AEW Dynamite
July 26th, 2023
By: John Siino
MVP Arena in Albany, NY
Commentary: Excalibur, Taz & Tony Schiavone
Dark Match: Skye Blue defeated Anna Jay by pinfall with a roll-up
AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. AR Fox
We see a video package before the match from Darby Allin talking about his history with AR Fox and Fox inviting him to live with him for free when Darby didn’t have any other place to go. Darby said without AR Fox there would be no Darby Allin. Fox and Orange Cassidy start the match with a handshake, before Cassidy gets knocked down to the mat and comedically tries to get up. Fox is able to hold Orange down with body scissors, but he’s able to put his hands in his pockets and slither right out. Orange ends up going to the outside where Fox meets him with a moonsault. Back inside, Orange counters a suplex into Stundog Millionaire, but Fox is able to block a DDT attempt into a twisting brainbuster for a two count as we go to picture-in-picture.
When we come back they are going back and forth with double boots and double neckbreakers. They fight in the corner before Fox dives to Orange to the outside and hits a senton back inside for a two count. Orange comes back with a dive to the outside himself, a DDT, and the Beach Break for a two. They fight on the top rope where Fox hits the Lo Mein Pain for a two. They fight on the apron, where Fox hits a DDT off the ropes for another two. Fox heads to the top, but Darby gets out of the way. They go back and forth a bit until Orange traps on the Mouse Trap for the pin and the win.
Winner: Orange Cassidy by pinfall at 13:46, to retain
Orange puts his glasses on Fox after the match, but Fox breaks them and attacks Orange as commentary mentions this being out of character. Darby Allin runs out and starts shoving Fox around asking him what the hell was that and calling it embarrassing.
Back in the ring, Jon Moxley comes from out of the crowd and attacks Orange, hitting him with the Death Rider.
Hell Of A Painting
Renee Paquette is backstage with Chris Jericho & Don Callis and says things look to be going in the right direction regarding Jericho joining the Don Callis Family. Callis talks about the potential of Jericho joining and says they have to give the people something and he arranged a situation where Jericho can be in a tag team match with his partner Konosuke Takeshita. Jericho says he’s willing to give it a try until Callis says the opponents would be Daniel Garcia & Sammy Guevara. Callis calls it perfect as they need to spread their wings, as Jericho reluctantly agrees. Callis says to commemorate this next step he commissioned a work of art and shows a picture of his 1995 promo, with Callis & Jericho drawn as Bad News Allen is watching on. Jericho says he can’t carry it all day, but Callis says he has a perfect place. Renee says ‘hell of a painting’.
The Hook Line
We see a video of Hook with the FTW Championship, as a train passes by and the championship is gone. When the train passes by again, Hook is now gone.
The Coolest Cat In The Room
Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta are backstage with a message to PAC on what he did to the Blackpool Combat Club, as Jon Moxley interrupts and says if anybody else thinks they are the coolest cat in the room, they will get hurt.
That’s Enough, Jungle
Tony Schiavone is in the ring and introduces the new FTW Champion Jack Perry, who comes out to his Beethoven theme while wearing orange shorts and an ‘I Beat Hook’ t-shirt. Perry talks about after one loss, Hook went home and he got on a train to nowhere as the crowd is booing whenever Perry talks. Perry says when he was talking about winning a title, he wasn’t talking about this one and says the FTW title was created in a second-class company full of scumbags just like the fans here, who started chanting ‘asshole’ as him. Perry says the title was never recognized until he put his hands on it, as he’s the real deal and the greatest wrestler to ever get within a hundred feet of it. Perry says he would run circles around all of Taz’s friends from back in the day.
Jerry Lynn comes out and says ‘that’s enough, Jungle’ to Perry’s dismay as says that they paid the wave for this generation, and without ECW there would never be a ‘Jungle Boy’ and if he keeps running his mouth he’ll get his ass kicked. Perry says he would like to see who would kick his ass as Lynn drops the mic. Perry says he’s not dressed to fight and proposes that next week they will see who gets their ass kicked.
The Britt Show
Renee is with Dr. Britt Baker DMD backstage and asked for her reaction after what Taya Valkyrie said about her on Collision. Baker said she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t surprised when Taya called her out. Baker said if she wants to swim with the sharks, she will drag her to the deep end to remind everyone that TBS is The Britt Show.
PAC vs. Gravity
Excalibur brings up PAC’s old moniker of ‘The Man That Gravity Forgot’ as PAC tries to tell Gravity who he is. Gravity takes PAC down with a dropkick as Excalibur brings up Gravity’s brother Bandido being out with a wrist injury. Gravity takes PAC to the outside where he takes his time getting back inside, but when he does Gravity goes to the outside and they spend the next minute chasing each other in and out until PAC dropkicks Gravity trying to get back inside the ring. They start fighting on the outside, where Gravity hits a power slam to PAC plus a stalling splash off the apron to PAC on the outside before we go to picture-in-picture.
When we come back, we see the Blackpool Combat Club watching on from the back as PAC is pie-facing Gravity while saying ‘Forget me, not’. This joke has already been run to the ground. Gravity comes back with a high cross-body for two, but PAC stops him with a flurry of kicks. They head to the top rope where PAC hits an avalanche brain buster, and right into the Brutalizer as Gravity taps out.
Winner: PAC by submission at 8:26
Hey, Boundaries!
We see comments from last week where Renee is with Adam Cole & MJF after they won the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament. Adam Cole tries to talk, but MJF cuts him off and says that he liked FTR better when they were his lackeys and questions Cash Wheeler rocking a mullet and says he’s sick of Dax Harwood’s Mr. Clean/Yosemite Sam ass talking about loving his wife, daughter, and this business. MJF says he’s going to take his fist and punch Dax so hard in the face that he’s going to spit out CM Punk’s jock strap and they will win the tag team championship. Cole talks about this how now become about friendship with them two and never in a million years did he think he would enjoy this so much he wants to make it very clear that MJF has nothing to worry about with the AEW World Championship and says that MJF is becoming one of his best friends. MJF says he’s been thinking long and hard and win, lose, or draw after July 29th on Collision, he’s going to give Cole a rematch for the AEW World Championship because he knows how much it means to him.
Roderick Strong and his neck brace interrupt and start shoving MJF around, but Cole stops them and tells MJF to give them a second. Cole tells Strong that he loves him, but he is acting insane and crazy and what he’s doing is pushing Cole away. Cole says he has other friends and he needs to trust them, he starts to walk away but Strong grabs his arm. Cole screams ‘Hey, boundaries!’ as Strong says he’s making a big mistake.
Generational Ass Kickers
After the break, we see Renee last Wednesday with FTR ahead of their tag team championship match and ask how they feel about Cole & MJF being the team they are facing. Cash Wheeler says part of him feels bad as Cole is being dragged into this. Wheeler says he hates MJF and knows he is a terrible human being and calls him a generational ass kisser and they are generational ass kickers. Wheeler brings up everybody, including his fiancee, leaving MJF once they get to know him and says they have to make sure that Cole & MJF learn that you never mess with FTR. Dax Harwood says it doesn’t sit well for him that Cole has a victory over him, and he won’t get ‘all gimmicked up’ about MJF and thinks it’s hilarious that MJF is making a mockery out of a tag team wrestling but at Collision it won’t be a dance routine. Harwood says if MJF said anything about his wife or daughter, he will rip his eyes out.
Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana) vs. Darby Allin (w/ Nick Wayne)
They start the match with a couple of side headlocks from the apron all the way back down to the mat, before going back and forth against the ropes until Darby Allin gets sent to the apron. They head to the outside where Darby hits a Code Red, sending Swerve Strickland back inside for a two. Taz starts screaming about how many friends Darby has, as Darby whips Swerve shoulder-first into the steel steps. Darby hits Swerve with a Coffin Splash against the barricade, but Swerve comes back with a kick, launching off the steel steps, onto Darby as they go to picture-in-picture.
When we come back, Swerve hits a flat liner and a suplex for a two-count. They go back and forth with pin attempts, including the Last Supper from Darby, but Swerve is able to kick out at two. Darby follows this by spearing Swerve through the ropes to the outside, just like he eliminated him from the Royal Rampage. Prince Nana tried to get involved, but Nick Wayne stops him as Swerve stops Darby trying to dive onto him on the outside with a kick. Swerve follows that with the Swerve Stomp, but Darby kicks out at two. They battle in the corner, where Darby hits a stunner, heads to the top rope, but Swerve is able to stop him. Swerve climbs to the top rope and hits a Death Valley Driver to Darby on the apron. Holy shit, indeed, as the crowd chants. We see a hooded figure come out from the crowd and attack Darby from behind, sending him into the ring post as the referee is distracted by Nana & Wayne. Swerve follows that with the JML Driver on Darby to get the pin and the win.
Winner: Swerve Strickland by pinfall at 12:07
The hooded figure is revealed to be AR Fox, as he joins Swerve & Nana in attacking Darby & Wayne. Nana hands Fox a Mogul Embassy t-shirt as he plays guitar on Darby’s skateboard.
Figure It Out, Fast
Renee is backstage with the Jericho Appreciation Society as Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, Anna Jay & Tay Melo all say they have to talk to Jericho as they walk into their locker room. They see the painting that Callis gave Jericho hung up in the room, and Jericho asks how the baby is. Melo says the baby is good, but asks how he is as Parker teases giving the comb knife back to him, but said he won’t just yet. Anna says Jericho is being selfish and says they have spent all this time appreciating him but don’t think he is appreciating them and just like Jake Hager said, they can’t give him 100 percent. They all start leaving one by one, as Matt Menard tells Jericho to figure it out, fast.
Dr. Britt Baker DMD vs. Taya Valkyrie
Right away, Taya Valkyrie takes Dr. Britt Baker DMD down to the mat and holds her down in a front headlock. Baker is able to escape, but Taya takes her back down with a shoulder block before she starts playing to the crowd taunting the DMD motion. They go back and forth a bit until Taya awkwardly drops Baker and mounts her with punches as we go to picture-in-picture.
When we come back, Baker takes Taya down with an elbow strike, but Taya kicks out at one. They trade-off kicks before Taya takes down Baker with a lariat for a two. Taya catches Baker off into a Northern Lights Suplex for a two-count. Baker comes back with the Panama Sunrise, but Taya kicks out at two. Baker puts on the glove, but Taya avoids it and hits a spear. Taya goes for the Road to Valhalla, but Baker escapes and puts on the Lockjaw as Taya immediately taps out.
Winner: Dr. Britt Baker DMD by submission, at 9:46
Rampage Line-Up
- Tag Team Battle Royale: Brian Cage & Big Bill, Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal, Satnam Singh & Jay Lethal, Luther & Serpentico, Angelo Parker & Matt Menard, The Hardys, The Butcher & The Blade, Isiah Kassidy & Ethan Page (the winners face the winner of FTR vs. MJF & Adam Cole)
- Scorpio Sky vs. Kip Sabian
- The Kingdom in action
- Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose
Collision Line-Up
- AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR (c) vs. MJF & Adam Cole
- Ladder Match for Andrade El Idolo’s mask: Buddy Matthews vs. Andrade El Idolo
- El Hijo del Vikingo, Action Andretti & Darius Martin vs. Juice Robinson & The Gunns
Dynamite 200 Line-Up
- Chris Jericho & Konosuke Takeshita vs. Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia
- Jack Perry face-to-face with Jerry Lynn
- More matches to be announced on Rampage
Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta) vs. Lucha Bros. (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) (w/ Alex Abrahantes) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli) (w/ Wheeler Yuta)
Before the bell rings, The Best Friends & The Lucha Brothers start fighting before the Blackpool Combat Club can even make their way to the ring. Jon Moxley & Chuck Taylor make their way to the top of the stage where Taylor dives onto Moxley and everybody else off the stage. Rey Fenix & Claudio Castagnoli eventually make their way into the ring and go at it, before everybody else joins in and gets offense in before Claudio hits a pop-up uppercut for a two. We finally get some tags in this match, with Moxley & Trent Beretta coming in. Moxley takes Beretta down with a King Kong lariat, but Beretta kicks out at two as we go to picture-in-picture.
When we come back, everybody is going at it with the Best Friends hitting in-stereo spiked piledrivers, as Penta El Zero Miedo kicks out at two from Beretta’s pin attempt. Claudio teases going for the Ricola Bomb, but Orange Cassidy makes his way out and takes out Wheeler Yuta. Orange & Moxley start going at it, as Beretta reverses Claudio and hits the Crunchie, but can’t make the pin as he’s not the legal man. Penta comes in and hits the Fear Factor on Beretta to get the pin and the win.
Winners: Lucha Bros. (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) by pinfall at 14:27
They all keep fighting after the match, as Excalibur announces that next week Jon Moxley, Trent Beretta & Penta El Zero Miedo will battle in an Anything Goes Match at Dynamite 200.
