AEW Dynamite 6-10-20 - FTR vs. Butcher and Blade

A Cage highlight reel makes him look like a world-beater. BRITT IS HERE IN HER ROLES ROYCE! Cody faces Marq Quen for the TNT Title, and this can be a great learning experience for him. Sammy vs. Colt is on tap too and looks great. Hager and PNP face the Best Friends and Orange. FTR vs. Butcher and the Blade is up, and they've made Sutter look 55 in the graphic. Jericho comes out and says LE CHAMPION IS HERE!

FTR drives down - so the truck's part of their regular intro. The revamped FTR logo looks fantastic and their theme is solid. Love the beater truck being part of their intro - plays into the blue collar vibe they're going for. Jake and Lance look on annoyed. Sutter and Harwood chop each other a ton. Jericho says that FTR means "Follow The Rules" - so that's a new shirt and Jericho hypes up that the Inner Circle has two great teams in it. Giant FTR chant

Jericho says that Butcher looks like he's from Escape From New York, meaning Gangs of New York - so he means ALL THE NEW YORK MOVIES. Big crossbody block by Butcher and Blade gets an edge thanks to Butcher choking Cash in the corner. Swinging neckbreaker by Dax to Blade before a big brainbuster. DOUBLE DRAPING DDT TO BUTCHER! Powerplex hits and gets 2.9! GORGEOUS splash/elbow by Cash. Shatter Machine is now the Goodnight Express and the spike piledriver/Mind Breaker ends it - so that's their new finish. I like it - they get a finish they couldn't do in WWE, and use their WWE finish as a setup for their actual finish.

Tony interviews FTR mid-ring and Dax says this is the pinnacle of tag team wrestling before the Bucks come in and thank them for having a great match and winning it. The Bucks get on them for not introducing themselves properly - which is a great little dig at WWE not liking them for how they introduced themselves. Bucks are assholes to FTR before Butcher attacks the Bucks and now the tag champs are in.

The Natural Nightmares are backstage and find out they'll face Omega and Page next week for the titles. QT gave Bunny a Natural Nightmares jacket, which pisses of Brandi. Dustin sets the stakes up - they could win the titles, but he needs to get Allie out of his system. Tony says he doesn't trust Allie and Jericho says he should because QT does. 

Penelope Ford comes out to team with Nyla as Jericho calls Kip sexy. Middle-aged bi-curious Jericho calling both Kip and Sammy sexy is great. Kris and Shida are here and Kris has "it". Jim Ross brings up the Canady Death Tours being near the Andromeda Galaxy. Kris boops everyone! Kris gets worked over for a bit before getting an edge thanks to Shida and uppercutting Nyla in the corner. Nyla grounds Kris and beats her down before a legdrop gets an ad break.

Jericho talks about Reba and how you should listen to what the doctor says - so she's not Rebel! "Drove it in her hard and strong!" Oh Jim... Big suplex by Shida to Ford gets 2. Big kneelift hits and Ross talks about Mr. Wrestling II's million dollar kneelift. Ford hits a stunner to Kris and then eats a knee to the...gut that's called the face. Stat hits an axe kick to Nyla and gets 2! Nyla avoids a suplex by Shida and drapes her for the diving knee on both. That spot seems like a great way to have someone land on another person's arm badly. Running knee to Rose by Shida! Falcon arrow gets 2! Kris dives on Kip and Ford belt shots Shida and hits the hottest fisherman's suplex ever to win it. 

DARBY ALLIN VIDEO WITH TONY HAWK AIRS! Darby needs to be DLC in the THPS remake. NEW BRITT VIDEO! She talks about acing a microbiology exam she didn't know about and she has more struggles than any other woman in AEW.AEW figure ad airs. Hager destroys OC and Ortiz unleashes TIGER STYLE FLIPS! Jericho buries Trent for not having a last name and Ross says well, he used to. Faces win and Jericho beats them down with the bat. Jericho's about to get bags of oranges more over than any title in WWE. Bat to the head busts OC open and Jericho smacks him with a giant bag of oranges.

MJF insults Jungle Jack Perry getting a title shot before him. He says he is a shark and he's swimming in a sea of minnows - and Billy says he's the real great white. MJF insults his kids and they build up a Billy Gunn match in 2020 quite well. Colt and the Dark Order issues are replayed. Mr. Brodie Lee wants him in the Dark Order and that's an interesting pair in the ring. Sammy comes down with the Hit Me Up Mobile and hops in the ring with Ross saying he hopes he can go the whole show without being hit by a golf cart or a horse. Good advice.

Ross talks about Colt being 40 and getting self-doubt just due to that and not really due to any lack of skills. Skyline doesn't work and Sammy hits the GTH, playing off the same thing they did with Daniels where the Dark Order aims to exploit mental weakness. Uno and Grayson return with Mr. Brodie Lee, who picks up Colt to get him back on his feet literally. Sammy demands his music before Matt saunters down and tells him he respects him and sees a young Matt Hardy.

We get some MATTER OF FACTS before we get Broken Matt, or maybe it's Damascus. Joey says he came to AEW to become a star and went from wrestling Moxley in main events to fading away. Great Streets of Rage-style music for him as he gets a ride from Sonny Kiss. Fun character stuff here. Colt goes to meet Mr. Brodie Lee. Billy faces MJF next week and the tag champs face the Natural Nightmares. The TNT Title is on the line next week and Le Sex Gods face The Best Friends and the Fyter Fest tag title match is on the line while the Superbad Death Squad faces the Bucks. Mox arrives with Marvez and he's slicked his hair forward - and looks so much worse. He talks shit about Taz and Taz says that Cage is gonna take him out at Fyter Fest - and Mox eats a beating already. Spinebuster on a hood by Cage and then Taz tells him to lay off before Cage slams him into the back window.

Cody cuts a great promo about how important the TNT Title is. We get a Quen highlight reel and he comes out to a new Private Party theme. Hardy Party is out with now '99 Matt out for him. Cody's new shirt's profits go to help out LGTBQ youth and Quen has a BLM armband. Justin Roberts is such a great ring announcer - he makes every match seem like a big deal.

Cody attacks the knee and buzzsaw kicks him for 2. Dragon sleeper variant on the Romero special is locked on. Quen gets a sloppy moonsault block, but it works given the leg is damaged going in and throughout it. Quen hits a pair of flip dives and bangs the knee on the second and getting a Fosbury flop on the third for 2. Arn lets Quen go up top and Ross says that in his day, Arn would've attacked. 450 ON THE RAMP BY QUEN!  Quen avoids an SSP and gets an ankle lock! Nightmare Lock is on and ends it! And that's how you get a finisher over - BEAT PEOPLE WITH IT!

Quen walks to the back and Hager walks out to set up Cody vs. Hager after he goes after Arn and Cody defends him. The Hardy Party is out and cleans house. More Inner Circle vs. Elite, but now with the Hardy Party in the mix to elevate Private Party - great stuff. Matt and Sammy brawl and a Twist of Fate hits. Cody says that Hager wants a title match at Fyter Fest, and it's on.

NXT Takeover - In Your House Live Results

For the first time in over 20 years, WWE's bringing back the In Your House name. The timing is great because it comes months after they, and to some degree rightfully, got an indy for a WM weekend show having a very similar logo. Now, they bring the branding back, can sell some retro-themed shirts if they want, and can use the Takeover name and give it a sub-label for the COVID crowd-free shows to help not quite dilute the name value built up with Takeover.  Pre-show has some stupid soundbytes even by WWE standards. "It's Charlotte Flair - SHE'S A FLAIR!"
Thanks, Nattie - keep collecting those checks. Weird issue on the Xbox One is preventing me from seeing it, but it's still loading on the site - so okay.PS4 is fine. Loving the old school set.

Shotzi gets an inverted slingblade to Kai. Raquel tosses Shotzi, but they mis-time catching Mia and all fall down. Shotzi's offense is so far 90% of flying random things that don't connect, but still get 2 counts. Shotzi gets a cattle mutilation, but Dakota breaks it up. Mia gets 2 off a dragon suplex to Candace here in the opener. So if Tegan and Dakota are involved in the finish, why go into it with Mia Yim as the team captain? Regal does the Lord Alfred Hayes plug for the ice cream sandwiches.

Damian Priest's ability to step in front of...various doors should be impressing me why? Priest shoots an imaginary arrow to set things ablaze on the tron. DON'T FORGET ABOUT HOW INFLUENTIAL HHH IS ON THE YOUNGER TALENT. HE'S THE GAME! Shotgun dropkick hits before the bell and I love this dark blue gear on Balor - looks great on him. Broken arrow by Priest. Pele kick gets 2 from Balor. Razor's edge from Priest on the apron gets 2. Super side effect-style chokeslam from Priest gets 2. Why would you do a side effect-style move off the top anyway? You're just going to fuck your own back and hip up. Balor avoids a razor's edge onto the steps base and forearm shots him down onto it. Beth says "HE CAN'T BREATHE!" this of all weeks before Balor hits two flying footstomps to win his 11th Takeover match.

I like Johnny adjusting the IYH's smart thermostat 1 degree to 69 and then calling back to the keys by locking the door behind him. Great heel theme for Johnny too. Lee just chucks him around for a bit. Outstide-in spear misses for Johnny, so Keith snaps the back hard for 2. Johnny goes for a flying armbar, but Lee curls him. Pop-up spinebuster hits for 2 for Lee. Lee pounces him through a plexiglass barrier and then carries him to the ring. Mia and Candace brawl before Johnny keys the eye again. Slingshot DDT hits for 2. Sprit Bomb hits as a hope spot. Powerbomb chain into the BBC ends it. This was technically fine, but missing a few key ingredients.

NXT Title match is up and Cole's here in a giant TUE truck while Dream arrives in a Lambo. Regal vs. Finlay in the parking lot was so much more exciting and organic than whatever this is. Dream smashes a car up with Cole in it for a bit. Someone coming "for an Uber" arrives and their car gets smashed into a bit. They brawl and Cole hides behind a door and fire extinguishes him in the face. Tom calls back to HBK-Diesel, because EVERYTHING HAS TO BE A CALLBACK! We're getting cuts every 3 seconds. It's like Dusty and Flair in non-stop action.

They fight on a ladder and Dream tosses him onto a car. Thank God Bobby Fish has dyed his hair again. AND NOW HE HAS TONS OF INK TOO. Holy mid-life crisis, Batman. TUE tosses tons of chairs mid-ring. Dexter Lumis interferes and takes care of Fish and Strong and kidnaps them.  Sunrise countered into a Dream Valley Driver. Purple rainmaker gets 2. Low blow and the sunrise hits on the chairs and ends it. This was pretty bad - worst cinematic match so far, including the Impact Shamrock-Sami match. Hyped for Dexter Lumis to be the one to end Cole's reign, because who else is left?

Todd hypes up WWEShop and we get DX on the computer all looking 120 years old. I do like Todd saying they're on AOL Chat now. Kross t-bones Ciampa around a bit. I like Kross busting out offense that would be right at home in an Aki game between that crotch-lift exploder and head-holding lariat. F-10 and a hoist up into the Krossjacket and that's it. Kross takes out Ciampa and that right there should put him into the title hunt.

Triple threat women's title match is up, with Charlotte verbally burying everyone. Luckily, Io looks like a megastar. Io counters Riptide with a crossbody. Charlotte tosses Io through the window, before Io dives on the pile from the top of the house set. SUPER RIPTIDE TO CHARLOTTE GETS 2 DUE TO IO! Prism trap is on Io, but Charlotte has a kendo stick and lays her out. Charlotte gets the figure 4 and the figure 8 is on, but the moonsault hits Rhea and Io wins it. So Rhea...sure is a loser, eh?

 

AEW Dynamite 5-27-20 - Tyson LIVE

It's been a bit since I've covered Dynamite live, but thanks to work not being exhausting like it was over the weekend, I should be able to get through this with ease. Double or Nothing recap showcases Cage, Cody, Shida, Brodie vs. Mox, and the Stadium Stampede - making it seem like a massive show. Jericho is backstage and cuts a wacky SMW promo about needing to recoup the costs of their Stadium Stampede Champions shirts - but they wound up with a whole truckload of shirts. Matt cuts a promo with the Elite and Page and Omega leave and then Matt says that he can turn into a different version for them and he goes from Broken to 2008 Tights gear and he has his own tron and theme for each era.

Bucks/Hardy against Private Party and Janela. Love JR shouting out Wilbur Snyder for the abdominal stretch. Joey ducks a superkick and Blade eats it. Matt attacks them, so there's their next program. Ross gets in a dig at WWE for the plexiglass as AEW is using the open air setup to build up new feuds. Matt gets a deathdrop/DDT for Private Party AND MOONSAULTS ONTO THE PILE FOR 2. Kassidy with an outside-in...something that somehow gets 2. Matt looked to do a Side Effect off a DDT attempt from Kassidy, but yeah that wasn't smooth. Super bionic elbow into the bang for your buck ends it. Super-fun match. Kassidy and Hardy help Marq Quen out before Butcher and Blade attack the Bucks.

FTR arrives and HELPS THE BUCKS! Bucks superkick Butcher and Blade before the Shatter Machine hits! FTR leaves and we get some great character work just by having them not play their hand right away. Mox comes out and he goes to the HBO Max announce table to call Cage's match since he'll be facing him at Fyter Fest. Cage uppercuts Lee Johnson out of his boots and Biels him around. Corner Joe kick and a German hit hard, powerbomb into a buckle bomb and the drill claw ends it. THIS IS HOW YOU GET A GUY OVER! Taz cuts a great ECW promo and says that Cage will tear Mox's heart out "beat him if you can - survive if he lets you!".

Britt's out in her wheelchair AND REBEL is here with her and a white board. She just owns the screen every second and becomes Jericho from 1998 when he was doing his conspiracy theory deal. She blames everyone else and says she'll be back at All Out - so she's not out for as long as feared and can get better and better with skits like this. Jericho and the goons cut a promo before Orange walks through and pisses off Jericho.

Christi Jaynes is mid-ring to face Shida while JR puts Jaynes over as her mother earned a doctorite while raising five kids total. They have a nice face off with a tie-up before Jaynes heels up and eats a variety of running knees. Falcon arrow ends it for Shida. Fun stuff. Ross should maybe not use "she goes down pretty good, too!". Oh good - let's do picture and picture WITH THE AD AUDIO PLAYING instead of the dialogue for the characters on the core show. Brilliant move. So Hangman and Omega did...something, but I'll have to see the Fite rip to know what they said.

They need to put...something in this TNT logo in the belt. ROH had a sawblade-esque design in it for the World title and that would help this a lot. Cody puts Tony Khan over because of course he does. He says he wasn't even the third guy called for AEW. He says he's the first champion of America's greatest network. He says that he paid his dues on TV and grew up on TV. Dustin got all of Dusty, while he's got a mean old Mom with a broken ankle. Cody talks about this being the COVID-19 era and thanks the fans for giving AEW a shot and he wants to give them the best. Cody says he'll defend the TNT Title every week. Hopefully this doesn't end up like Devon's TV Title run.

Havoc and Sabian face off with SCU for a tag title shot. Ex talks about Havoc being great at British catch wrestling, but loving deathmatch wrestling more. Havoc does some stuff for a bit. 205 LIVE CHINLOCK AFTER A BREAK! Rolling DVD by Havoc into a super double stomp by Sabian gets 2. Kaz launches Havoc into the ring for a cutter and gets 2 - great spot. Ford is the difference maker and allows her team to win it! Didn't see that coming - but it gets another team over.

MJF says he's the best guy in the company and didn't have to come from WWE to do it - but he hasn't gotten a shot here. So if Cody has an open challenge every week, what's the point of a top contender other than to have rankings? MJF is a dickhead to Wardlow, so now they're slowly teasing issues there. GREAT!

Billy with no last name is in the battle royal and Orange gets madballed by PNP. It's 2020 and Dr. Luther is on TNT. Not for long though - Luchasaurus tail whips him and chokeslams him on the apron and to the floor. JR calls Sonny Kiss "she". Cutler and Avalon get crotched and fight on the top rope. Wardlow tosses Marko out before WARDLOW AND LUCHASAURUS BATTLE IT OUT! Wardlow and MJF take out Billy and MJF tells Billy to suck it. MJF accidentally clocks Wardlow with the ring and then MJF is taken out by OC and both Jack and OC take out Wardlow! OC and Jack battle it out for skin the cat spots, BUT JUNGLE JACK WINS IT with a running rana! Cody vs. Jack is up next week.

Stadium Stampede recap with MNF-style music. That was a Stadium Stampede recap on both cocaine and speed. Wow. Giant football-style intro for the Inner Circle here with a band and cheerleaders. The ringposts are now HBO Max purple too. Wow. VICKIE IS OUT AS AN INNER CIRCLE CHEERLEADER! Vickie is so great and Sammy is a perfect stooge. He's basically a comedy act in this and it works for him. Jericho bums off the loser shirts for the crowd - tremendous!

Sammy gets Jericho a King of Dad Jokes participation trophy and Santana gets Hager some Timbs - the discount ones. Jericho gets Sammy a pimped out scooter. Hager HAS A POEM. The IC is the best of sex of violence and they're all the bestla and he'll run the Elite over with his Tesla. Jericho says he wants Tyson because he hasn't forgotten what Tyson did to him a decade ago on Raw. I like that AEW does more to honor Raw from a decade ago more than WWE does. Sammy gets him bubbly and a cheese platter BUT IT'S GONE!

Tyson and his posse arrive and Jericho shoves Tyson and Vitor Belfort, who of course takes his shirt off. The ring fills up ala Tyson vs. Austin and the locker room empties out to break them up. AEW has created the first chaotic-looking scene in the COVID era. Awesome.