In this WrestleTalk News, some AEW suspensions are over, Triple H makes even more changes
to NXT, all is right with the world, and Luke will be here reviewing AEW Dynamiteehee.
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[SUPPORT WRESTLETALK] So don’t know if you know this or not, certainly
not from the five million videos we’ve made on the subject alone, but after All Out the
very top of AEW’s card started to crumble.
Following CM Punk’s media scrum put down of just about everyone who has ever wronged
him bar Jenny from high school who dumped him, Punk went backstage and got into a ruck
with Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks.
The whole bunch were reportedly served suspensions along with everyone else who got dragged into
the fray, and by extension Ace Steel’s mouth.
But it appears AEW is easing some of those punishments after it was reported by Fightful
Select that producer Pat Buck was working last night’s Dynamite.
Buck had been part of the crew trying to break up the brawl according to sources.
Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Alvarez followed up saying he “believed” that Buck, Brandon
Cutler, Christopher Daniels and Michale Nakazawa were off-suspension.
But added that The Elite and CM Punk will likely remain suspended pending the results
of the third-party investigation AEW launched into the entire torrid affair.
Speaking of affairs, that’s what Triple H has been getting in order since his return
to a creative position within WWE.
Lots of Trips power base within the company was dismantled while he was out recovering
from his cardiac event, but since he has come back stronger than ever within the company
he has been putting things back the way they were.
This started with bringing back some of his favorite onscreen talents and backstage cohort,
but has now spread to NXT, his darling baby brand.
Firstly, the show has regained its black and gold logo and lost the 2.0 branding, but he
hasn’t stopped there.
According to Bryan Alvarez the upcoming Halloween Havoc show is listed internally as a TakeOver,
the PPV name used in the original NXT, which had been banished by Vince McMahon and Kevin
Dunn when they took over creative from Triple H and his team.
Trips is also bringing back another talent that he loves, spoilers for the NXT tapings
coming up in 3, 2, 1.
On the show taped last night that is set to air next week former NXT UK Champion Ilja
Dragunov appeared to challenge current NXT Champion Bron Breakker and number one contender
JD McDonagh.
Dragunov had some absolutely show stealing matches against WALTER aka GUNTHER for the
NXT UK Championship and is just really bloody intense, so this is exciting.
But NXT might also be losing one of the mainstays of the 2.0 era - as after Carmelo Hayes lost
the North American Championship to Solo Sikoa on this week’s NXT Hayes posted an image
of himself throwing up a peace sign while onstage at a concert which come people are
seeing as a way of him saying farewell to the brand.
Feels like a bit of a reach, it’s a bit of reach.
Hot tag to Luke.
It’s Thursday, you know what that means, it’s time for my review of AEW Dynamite
- aka nah mate I’ve never even heard of CM Punk or The Elite edition of AEW Dynamite…
in about 5 minutes.
The show opened with the first of two semi-final matches to crown a new AEW World Champion
at next week’s Grand Slam, between former champ Jon Moxley and multi-time TNT champ
Sammy Gueverra - though I think most of those were interim reigns.
I really enjoyed this more serious side of Sammy Gueverra, who was determined to win
this match and match the violence of Moxley.
Although he did get a great nearfall off a standing Spanish Fly - and distraction and
ball shots from Anna Jay and Tay Mello - he didn’t quite manage it, as Moxley reversed
the GTH into the Death Rider for the win.
I also really liked the nice touch that at one point in the match, Mox used the Seatbelt
pin, which is a move Wheeler Yuta learned from Chuck Taylor - showing that the Blackpool
Combat Club are teaching each other stuff in their dojo.
A nice little detail.
MJF cut a promo following the ad break, targeting Moxley for his comments last week - which
sort of telegraphs who is going to win the World Championship next week, as MJF made
it clear that his next goal is that world title.
He tried to muddy the waters by also mentioning Bryan Danielson and Chris Jericho, but this
was very much a promo on Moxley.
And what a promo it was.
Bringing up Mox’s bad childhood and how Mox now uses a tough guy persona to overcome
his trauma, and even says that while Moxley’s addictions were bad, MJF is worse than them.
He then brought out his Stable-On-Retention, The Firm - Stokley Hathaway’s new group
of lads.
MJF left, allowing Stokely to do what he does best - cut brilliant and eloquent promos that
make his talent look and sound awesome.
He went through all of the lads and laid out what they want: Lee Mortiarty will go for
the ROH Pure Championship, The Ass Boys want the tag titles, and Ethan Page wants the All-Atlantic
Championship while W. Morrisey wants…
a job I guess.
Now outside of the tag titles, those aren’t exactly lofty goals - but credit to AEW for
trying to elevate these titles and make them mean something; which we saw later on in the
evening when Orange Cassidy attacked Pac to set up another challenger for the All-Atlantic
Championship.
It’s a belt that needs some rehab, and this is a good first step on that path.
Jungle Boy issued an open challenge which was answered by Jay Lethal and the two had
a decent match that didn’t have a lot of heat, but did pick up for the end when Jungle
Boy reversed the Figure Four into the Snare Trap for the win.
We got a video package for Action Bronson and Hook, and then Alex Marvez attempted to
interview Luigi Primo - who I think I once signed in MyGM Mode on WWE2K22 for our partsFUNknown
series.
He was attacked by Ethan Page, who set up a match with Danhausen for this Friday.
Matt Hardy also set up a match with Darby Allin for Rampage, and Powerhouse Hobbs beat
a local lad before cutting a promo on Ricky Starks, who appeared through the crowd to
attack Hobbs to continue their rivalry.
The crowd were super into Starks.
And then came the best thing on the show.
I don’t think the tag title run for Swerve in our Glory has been particularly stellar,
and it’s nothing to do with either guy.
They’ve just not had any big contenders to the belts.
But what makes up for the lack of stories is the excellent in-ring action.
Their match with The Acclaimed stole the show at All Out, and they stole the show again
here with a tag title match against The Lucha Bros who were looking to become double champs
just like their Geordie pal Pac.
This was a tremendous back and forth match.
It’s no secret that we here at WrestleTalk love Keith Lee - it’s been mine and Oli’s
gimmick for the past six years - but one of my favourite things about him is that even
though he’s the ‘big guy’ of the match, he’s not afraid to be the one that gets
worked over to build to a Swerve hot tag.
It means that none of their matches have to follow the same formula and they can shake
it up.
It’s why their matches have been so much fun, and kind of why I love them as a team.
And this match was no exception; filled with amazing spots and moments including a sequence
where Rey Fenix did a double springboard Spanish Fly onto Swerve, and Penta used the back of
Fenix to hit a step-up Canadian Destroyer on Keith Lee.
It was so, so cool.
Crowd were massively into this too, and Lee hit the Big Bang Catastrophe on Penta for
the win.
I loved all of this.
The Acclaimed then came out, with Caster again not doing a rap because - well, you know - but
did get the crowd hyped up for their match title match at Grand Slam next week.
I really think they’re going to win.
After Britt Baker attacked Hikaru Shida on AEW Dark, Athena stepped in to tag with Toni
Storm against Baker and Serena Deeb.
Promoting multiple matches for Rampage and recapping something that happened on Dark?
Took you long enough, Tony!
This was a totally fine match, with a slightly wonky finish.
Rebel caused a distraction, and allowed Deeb to throw Storm into a chair being held by
Baker for Deeb to pin the champ.
Jamie Hayter ran down afterwards - seemingly to make the save for Storm and Athena - but
instead hit Toni with a chair and continued to argue with her former friend Baker.
Firstly, the positives, the women’s champ has been on TV for two straight weeks in matches.
Which is more than we can say for most previous women’s champions, and we should be establishing
Storm as the top of the division.
As we saw with Mox’s Interim run, if you present them as the actual champion they’ll
get over and it will make more of the unification match.
But, on the other side of the coin, she was pinned here.
Which doesn’t really accomplish making her look like the top of the division.
Moreover, you’d think Deeb pinning Storm would set up a 1-1 title match for next week,
but it actually set up a four-way that also includes Athena and Britt Baker.
It’s certianly a choice.
Not one I’d make, but a choice none the less.
At least the champ will be on TV again for a third week in a row.
Mark Sterling cut a promo to hype Josh Wood’s match with Samoa Joe this Friday, and the
second semi-final for the AEW World Championship took the main event slot as Chris Jericho
took on Bryan Danielson in a rematch from All Out.
In a nice little bit of detail, they put over that Danielson - in his entire career not
just AEW - has never beaten Chris Jericho.
It added some good drama to this match, which was absolutely fabulous.
Both men really brought it to each other, stepping up as the locker room leaders to
move the company forward following the drama after All Out.
It was all built around the finish, where Danielson took a suplex to the outside and
seemingly hurt his ankle.
Jericho ripped off his boot and kick pad and targeted it - creating a brilliant Walls of
Jericho and Single Leg Crab nearfall.
Finally Jericho locked in the Figure Four, but Danielson transitioned it into the LaBell
Lock for the win.
An awesome match, and it sets up Blackpool Combat Club vs. Blackpool Combat Club next
week, as either Jon Moxley or Bryan Danielson will walk out of Grand Slam the new AEW World
Champion.
This was another building block episode of Dynamite, one that is needed.
Not just because of what happened with Punk and The Elite, but also because the company
has been missing a spark since Revolution.
These might not be blow-away shows, but they’re creating a foundation to do those shows again.
And I’ve got a feeling that next week’s will be a great show.
For now, this episode of Dynamite
was 4 out 5.