AEW Dynamite
November 8th, 2023
By: John Siino
Moda Center in Portland, OR
Commentary: Excalibur, Taz & Tony Schiavone
Strong Reminder
The show starts with Tony Schiavone & MJF as Schiavone asks how he feels after Jay White pinned him last week, and MJF says anyone can get pinned before Adam Cole calls him on his phone. MJF puts it on the TV screen, as Cole suggested MJF teams up with Roderick Strong at Full Gear to take on The Gunns, but MJF is still against it. Daniel Garcia and his crew walk in as MJF asks which version of Garcia he will get tonight, to which Garcia says the professional wrestler. Strong rolls in with The Kingdom and tries to persuade MJF to team with him, which he walks off on. Strong tries to talk to Cole, but he hangs up on him. Strong says it’s time to remind people who the hell he is.
AEW World Championship: MJF (c) vs. Daniel Garcia (w/ Matt Menard & Angelo Parker)
Towards the start of the match, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker get on the apron and try to talk some words to Daniel Garcia to get back ‘into it’. Garcia backs up MJF in the corner, who starts clapping that Garcia did a good job and extended his hand for ‘sportsmanship’. Garcia smacks it away and starts to dance, but MJF gives him a thumb in the eye. MJF stays in control as they go to picture-in-picture.
When we come back, we see MJF hit a hammerlock DDT for a two-count. Garcia comes back after blocking a Heatseeker and hits a one-armed piledriver, in which MJF barely kicks out of. Garcia puts on the Dragon Tamer, but MJF reverses it in the Salt of the Earth, as Garcia taps out.
Winner: MJF by submission at 10:37, to retain
MJF puts his hand out again, and just when it looks like Garcia is going to shake it, Menard & Parker stop him. MJF yells at Garcia if he’s going to keep following them and gets the crowd to start a ‘Danny’ chant. Garcia goes to shake his hand but gets stopped again.
Whip That Ass
We get a video hyping up tonight’s Mark Briscoe vs. Jay White as Briscoe talks about this being their first one-on-one match, and how he knew White back when he couldn’t grow a beard. Briscoe said he’s ready for White’s backup and tells White to put his Full Gear title shot on the line as he will whip his ass tonight.
Darby Allin & Sting vs. The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum)
This is only Sting’s second match in Portland, with the first one being against Ric Flair on January 12th, 1989. Darby Allin & Truth Magnum start the match, but Turbo Floyd quickly tags in. The crowd starts chanting ‘We want Sting’, as The Outrunners are keeping Darby in their corner until he makes the tag to Sting. Darby goes to dive to the outside but gets tripped up by Magnum. The Outrunners start spinning around Sting, but he takes them both out as they hit double splashes to them in the corner. Sting punches Magnum down and puts on the Scorpion Deathlock as he immediately taps out.
Winners: Darby Allin & Sting by submission at 2:58
Hollywood Homecoming Contract Signing
We go to earlier today, where Tony Schiavone is with Hikaru Shida & Toni Storm (along with Lutha), where the entire video is in black and white. Schiavone is hyping up their championship match at Full Gear with a contract signing, as Shida asks Storm what happened to her. Storm says ‘Shida happened’, by winning the championship. Now Shida ‘doesn’t happen anymore’ and ‘she will happen’. Shida may have the title but she will never have the spotlight as it belongs to Storm. Shida says she will beat Storm at Full Gear, as Storm says ‘Chin up, tits out, and watch for the shoe’, but Shida knocks the shoe out of her hand.
Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana) vs. Penta El Zero Miedo (w/ Alex Abrahantes)
The commentary states that ‘Hangman’ Adam Page is banned from coming down to ringside during this match. They start the match running the ropes, until Swerve Strickland knocks down Penta El Zero Miedo with a hurricanrana, and jumps off the top rope with an elbow to the back of Penta. Swerve starts working on Penta’s hand until they go into a chop exchange. Swerve starts pulling on the tongue of Penta, as Taz says he wishes he could do that to Schiavone. Penta sends Swerve to the outside after a backbreaker and goes to dive into him, as Swerve meets him with a strike before dropping Penta face-first into the steel steps. They start fighting on the apron and outside, until Penta hits a tope con giro on Swerve before they go to picture-in-picture.
When we come back, they go back and forth with arm drags, kicks, and punches before knocking each other down with a double clothesline. Penta comes back with a Death Valley Driver/Jackhammer type move, for a two-count before dumping Swerve to the outside. Penta meets Swerve on the apron and hits him with a Destroyer. They go back to fighting on the apron, where Swerve hits a stomp to Penta as he is draped over. Swerve sends Penta back inside, but misses the 450 Splash. Penta snaps Swerve’s arm back and hits Made in Japan for a two-count. Swerve escapes out of a Fear Factor attempt and hits a Death Valley Driver. Swerve comes back and breaks the wrist of Penta, goes to the top rope, and hits the Swerve Stomp for the pin and the win.
Winner: Swerve Strickland by pinfall at 13:22
Swerve starts removing Penta’s mask, but Adam Page runs out with a chair and chases Swerve & Nana away, but can land a shot on Swerve knocking him down. Page continues with a couple more chair shots before security comes out just to get taken out with the chair. Referees come out as Page hits the Dead Eye to Swerve off the ramp to a table ringside before officials finally send Page away.
Comparing Graphs
Alex Marvez is backstage with the Bullet Club Gold, as Jay White talks about MJF telling him to compare graphs and he will play along and indulge him. The reason why the graphs are like that is because MJF is searching for his name because of his insecurities. White says tonight he will show everybody that he is elite, as he takes on Mark Briscoe.
Like A Dragon
We see a video from Don Callis hyping up the Don Callis Family set to clips of the new video game; Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. We hear from Kenny Omega who talks about being beaten and broken, before tying it to the game calling next week’s match the ‘Like A Dragon Street Fight.’
The Elite & The Golden Jets
When we come back from break, Renee Paquette is backstage with Chris Jericho & Kenny Omega as Jericho talks about The Don Callis Family not realizing they had friends in Paul Wight & Kota Ibushi. The Young Bucks walk in and start making fun of their new ‘The Golden Jets’ name and talk about them having a name also in ‘The Elite’, and talk about how they created AEW. Jericho says he remembers him and Omega being there also, as Matt Jackson brings up Jericho’s ego. Jericho talks about him and Omega being two of the greatest to do it and says he thinks The Golden Jets could beat The Young Bucks. Bucks talks about them not being booked at Full Gear and proposes the idea of them having a tag match. Jericho says he likes the idea, but says when they will beat them they will take their AEW World Tag Team title shot. Matt Jackson says if they win, the Golden Jets are no more and they can do The Elite again. Omega says he doesn’t want to wrestle them, but he’s beaten them before and he can do it again and maybe they can start acting like real adults instead of sissy, whiny, bitchy children. Matt says it’s not the first time they heard that, as Omega says they had to hear it from someone like him. Jericho says he can’t wait to beat them up and tells them he has his own dressing room.
ROH World Television Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Keith Lee
Samoa Joe starts the match backing Keith Lee in the corner, before they lock up. Joe ends up raking Lee in the eyes and then knocking him down with a shoulder tackle, but Lee comes back with one of his own. They start running the ropes until Lee sends Joe to outside with a crossbody as they go to picture-in-picture.
When we come back, Joe takes Lee down with a kneebreaker. Joe starts kicking away at Lee’s knee. Joe continues for a while, but Lee comes back with a German Suplex on Joe. Plenty of ‘meat’ like chants as Lee catches Joe into a pop-up powerbomb, but falls himself. Eventually, Lee crawls over for the cover as Joe kicks out at two. Lee goes to pick up Joe, but Joe escapes and puts on the Coquina Clutch. Lee tries to fight out, but eventually passes out as the referee stops the match.
Winner: Samoa Joe by referee stoppage at 11:25, to retain
Joe Vacates TV Title
Joe gets on the mic and calls himself the greatest Television Champion of all time, but he didn’t come here to be your Television Champion, he said hunger defines the great, well consider him officially hungry as of tonight he vacates the ROH World Television Championship and says he is going after the AEW World Championship.
Picking Up The Pieces
We go to Orange Cassidy & Hook in the back, as Cassidy says Jon Moxley has lost his mind saying he doesn’t respect him. Cassidy says he’s been thinking about Moxley ever since he left him in a bloody mess, and he picked up the pieces of the International Championship that Moxley dropped. Cassidy says he has to beat Moxley to be the champion that he knows he is. And at Full Gear, he will beat him.
The Gunns (Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn) (w/ Juice Robinson) vs. The Bollywood Boyz (Gurv Sihra & Harv Sihra)
Colten Gunn & Gurv Sihra start the match, but right away Austin Gunn comes in and they hit 3:10 To Yuma on Gurv to get the quick win.
Winners: The Gunns (Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn) by pinfall at 40 seconds
Colten gets on the microphone and says MJF has been lying to everybody for years telling sob story after sob story and compares themselves to LeBron James and says they were made to TV, doing this for three years. Austin calls MJF an embarrassment of a champion and says the only friends he has left are on the other side of the guard rails and says he hopes he picks one of them as his partner for Full Gear. MJF is watching on from backstage, as Samoa Joe walks from behind him until MJF walks away.
See You In L.A.
We go to Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta in the back, as Moxley says he’s been told to let Orange Cassidy off the hook but Orange knew exactly what he was doing. This isn’t about the belt, but the laws of nature. He says he has to set an example to Yuta by beating Orange and asks what kind of example is to Hook. Moxley asks Orange if he could make it to Full Gear, as Yuta seems to put out a challenge to Hook and says he will see him in L.A.
The Days Of The Devil
We see a Wardlow video where he feels his potential was being wasted and he was treated as worthless all because of MJF and the days of the devil ruling over AEW are coming to an end.
Julia Hart vs. Red Velvet
Red Velvet coming back from injury, after being out for nine months as her right knee has a brace on it. They lock up and go back and forth for a bit until they both have a face-off while doing splits, as Excalibur says that’s a call back to their first encounter. Julia Hart trips up Velvet, but Velvet can corner Hart in the corner with punches before stretching her out with a boot choke. Hart mounts a comeback as we go to picture-in-picture.
When we come back from break, Taz brings up today being Julia Hart’s 22nd birthday and wonders if the House of Black gifted her a black cake with spiderwebs on it. Hart takes control, heads to the top rope, and hits a moonsault for the pin and the win.
Winner: Julia Hart by pinfall at 8:27
Hart puts on Hartless to Velvet after, as Skye Blue makes her way to the ring (wearing all black). Blue & Hart go face-to-face before Kris Statlander & Willow Nightingale make their way to the ring. Willow checks on Velvet, while Statlander gets in between Blue & Hart before Hart leaves and goes to the back.
Upcoming Matches
- FTR vs. Komander & El Hijo Del Vikingo (Rampage)
- Rush & Dralistico vs. The WorkHorsemen (Collision)
- Sting, Darby Allin & Adam Copeland vs. Lance Archer & The Righteous (Collision)
- Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta vs. Orange Cassidy & Hook (Dynamite – Next Week)
- Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name Street Fight: The Golden Jets, Kota Ibushi & Paul Wight vs. The Don Callis Family
Mariah May Is All Elite
We go to RJ City in the back and announces the new AEW signing Mariah May who says she’s excited to be in AEW. May says she just came from Stardom and now he’s excited to be part of the AEW women’s division and says she’s so excited that Toni Storm is here and followed her here. City says Storm just left and maybe next week she will introduce her to Storm as May gets very excited.
Jay White (w/ Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn) vs. Mark Briscoe
This is Mark Briscoe’s first match on Dynamite since the Concession Stand Brawl against Jeff Jarret in June. Right away, Briscoe knocks Jay White to the outside where he goes to regroup with the Bullet Club Gold. Back inside, Briscoe stays in control and knocks White the outside again where he meets him with a diving dropkick and a flying elbow off the apron. White distracts the referee in the ring that he’s injured as the rest of the BCG attack Briscoe going into picture-in-picture.
We come back and see a chop exchange before Briscoe hits a neckbreaker for a two-count. Briscoe follows with a Fisherman’s Buster for another two. Briscoe hits a Death Valley Driver and the Froggy Bow, as White kicks out yet again at two. Back and forth until Briscoe knocks down White with a clothesline and calls for the Jay Driller. White is able to reverse it, hits a Sleeper Suplex, and brainbuster for a two-count. Briscoe blocks a Blade Runner, but White comes back with another Sleeper Suplex and the Blade Runner to get the pin and the win.
Winner: Jay White by pinfall at 14:06
Running Out Of Friends
MJF’s music hits, but he appears behind Bullet Club Gold in the ring and takes out Juice & The Gunns. MJF teases going after White with the Dynamite Diamond Ring, but White escapes up the ramp. MJF gets on the mic and says he hopes White has been having fun playing dress-up because playtime is almost over as he has to get in the ring with MJF. MJF says when he won that title he promised himself to be the greatest AEW World Champion of all time and says White has to kill him to beat him, as for the first time in his life he’s fighting for everybody who’s been on this journey including Adam Cole & everyone in this arena. MJF ends it by asking if White will be the first man to pull the trigger. The lights go out, and when they come back on we see four masked men attacking The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn, sending Anthony Bowens through a glass window. We cut to the image of the man in the devil mask, as MJF runs to the back to check on them. Joe walks in and says it looks like MJF is running out of friends.
