AEW Dynamite
Episode 69
New Year’s Smash: Night 2
#AEWDynamite
Original Air Date: January 13, 2021
Event Date: January 7, 2021
(aired on TNT & the FITE app)
City: Jacksonville, FL
Venue: Daily’s Place
Commentary: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Taz (6)
Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts
Video
A look at how we got to tonight’s first match.
Match 1
Eddie Kingston w/ The Butcher, The Blade, The Bunny vs “The Bastard” Pac w/ Penta El Zero M, Rey Fenix
(referee: Bryce Remsburg)
Result: Pac wins via pinfall after the Black Arrow
Time: 9:37
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Eddie Kingston looked like he was ready for a fight, but Pac was ready to destroy someone. Pac had a ton of energy and adrenaline to start the match, and he overwhelmed Kingston in the first few minutes of the match. Kingston started to mount a comeback with some help from his family at ringside, but Pac shut Kingston down with a superplex that seemed to injure Kingston’s lower back. Kingston barely had any fight left in him after that, and the finish felt inevitable in the final few minutes of the bout. This was a very strong match for Pac.
Ring Area
Immediately after the match, Pac puts Kingston in the Brutalizer. That brings in everyone from ringside, but during the brief standoff, Lance Archer comes out and heads to the ring. Kingston and his family slide out of the ring and walk away as Archer enters. Pac and Archer then get in each other’s face, but Archer leaves Pac with just a warning before heading backstage and leaving Death Triangle to celebrate in the ring.
Match 2
“The Kentucky Gentleman” Chuck Taylor w/ Orange Cassidy vs “The Best Man” Miro w/ Kip Sabian, Penelope Ford
(referee: Aubrey Edwards; stipulation: If Chuck Taylor loses, he will be Miro’s “young boy” [or butler according to the commentators].)
Result: Miro wins via submission with Game Over
Time: 3:26
Match Thoughts
Good match, though it was a shorter than I wanted or expected it to be. Chuck Taylor started strong and had Miro on the defensive, but once Miro started to use his power, Taylor didn’t have an answer. I wasn’t surprised by the outcome, but I did kind of want more of a fight.
Backstage
Dasha welcomes Private Party and their new manager Matt Hardy. Private Party seems happy about their new managerial arrangement at first, but Marq Quen is upset about Hardy taking 30% of their income including income earned through third-party platforms. Hardy explains that they should have read the fine print of their contract, and it’s their own fault that they’re giving up so much money. Angrily, Hardy goes on to explain that Quen and Kassidy are going to be millionaires with Hardy’s help anyway, so they should stop complaining.
Hardy says he learned at All Out (when he smashed his head onto the concrete floor in his match with Sammy Guevara) that the fans don’t care about performers like himself and Private Party. Quen and Kassidy need to learn that lesson as well, and they need to just shut up and do exactly what Hardy says.
Ring Area
The Inner Circle heads to the ring. Chris Jericho says 2021 is going to be huge for the Inner Circle, and they’d like to share some of their resolutions for the year. Jake Hager wants “championships, yeah!” MJF wants to strengthen his bonds with his Inner Circle friends, and he wants to get rid of fat people. Ortiz has some cooking goals.
Jericho resolves to win the AEW Tag Titles with MJF, but Santana has an issue with that. Santana says Jericho hand-picked him and Ortiz to be THE tag team in the Inner Circle, so why would he want to go after the tag titles with MJF? Sammy Guevara knows what’s going on: Jericho is a tag team slut. Jericho doesn’t deny the accusation, then MJF condescendingly tries to talk to Guevara. Guevara gets pissed, but Jericho calms things down with a suggestion. Next week, the Inner Circle will have a three-way tag match to determine who is THE tag team within the group. It will be Jericho & MJF vs Santana & Ortiz vs Sammy & Hager. MJF closes the segment by saying that despite what happens next week, the Inner Circle will still be family.
Backstage
Alex Marvez welcomes Dark Order. Marvez asks Dark Order what’s next for them, and Evil Uno responds by saying that next week they will team with Adam Page. Page joins the group, and Alex Reynolds asks him when he’s officially going to become a member of Dark Order. Page promises to give them an anwer next week after their match.
Video
A look at the buildup to Darby Allin versus Brian Cage.
Backstage
Dasha welcomes The Elite (Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks) and Don Callis. Everyone seems excited that they’re all back together.
Ring Area
After Kenny Omega makes his entrance for the next match, Don Callis takes the mic from Justin Roberts. Callis makes the ring announcement for Omega’s tag team partners, Omega’s bet friends, The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson). We see Tony Khan, Dasha, and the young Bucks watching the monitor in the back as the Good Brothers enter the ring. Nick and Matt Jackson look annoyed as they walk away.
Match 3
Kenny Omega (AEW World Champ) w/ Don Callis & The Good Brothers (Impact Tag Champs) vs Danny Limelight & The Varsity Blondes
(referee: Bryce Remsburg)
Result: Karl Anderson pins Danny Limelight after Magic Killer (with Doc Gallows)
Time: 9:25
Match Thoughts
Good match. As expected, this was a heavily one-sided, but Limelight and the Varsity Blondes did have a decent showing for themselves. Limelight in particular stood out for his team, and he did enough in the ring with Omega to get some praise from the commentators. Omega did most of the work for his team, and the Good Brothers served in somewhat of a clean-up role (which is kind of ironic given Omega’s nickname).
Ring Area
After the match, Jon Moxley heads to the ring. Moxley takes on the Good Brother version of The Elite, but he’s quickly overwhelmed by Omega, Gallows, and Anderson. After a few seconds, the Lucha Brothers run out and attack Anderson and Gallows. Omega and Moxley brawl in the ring, and that prompts wrestlers and referees to come out from backstage to try to separate them. Omega and Moxley won’t be held back, but the Young Bucks come out in an attempt to calm Moxley down. As the Young Bucks keep Moxley back, the Lucha Brothers enter the ring and superkick Nick and Matt. The brawl resumes, and Omega walks away with Don Callis as more wrestlers and officials come out to try to stop the fighting. Things begin to settle as the show goes to a commercial break.
Ring Area
Rebel welcomes us to the Dynamite debut of The Waiting Room hosted by Dr. Britt Baker. After being a jerk to the live studio audience (i.e. the wrestlers at ringside), Baker welcomes her guest, “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes.
Without letting Cody speak, Baker announces her surprise guest for tonight: Jade Cargill. Cargill takes Cody’s mic and says no one gives a damn if Brandi is pregnant. Cargill then demands an opponent before shoving Cody in the face. Red Velvet enters the Waiting Room set and stands in front of Cargill. Cargill shoves Velvet, so Velvet slaps Cargill. Cargill responds with a vicious slap of her own, and the two women brawl. Wrestlers from ringside eventually pull Red Velvet away as Cargill is held back.
As everyone calms down, Thunder Rosa appears on the video screen in the arena. Rosa informs Baker that she will be beating Baker’s ass at Beach Break on February 3rd. Baker says she’s won’t participate in the match despite the official graphic for Rosa versus Baker appearing on the video screen.
Match 4
Marko Stunt & Jungle Boy w/ Luchasaurus vs FTR w/ Tully Blanchard
(referee: Paul Turner)
Result: Cash Wheeler pins Marko Stunt after the Big Rig
Time: 12:10
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Marko Stunt entered this match still angry over the way FTR has been talking to him recently, and Stunt used that anger and adrenaline to fly all around the ring and frustrate FTR. Jurassic Express dominated the first part of the match, but things got a lot more competitive as the match went on. This was a very fun clash of styles.
Match 5
NWA Women’s Title Match
Tay Conti w/ Anna Jay, Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, Alex Reynolds, John Silver, Alan Angels, Preston Vance, Colt Cabana vs Serena Deeb (NWA Women’s Champ)
(referee: Aubrey Edwards)
Result: Serena Deeb wins via pinfall after the Deebtox
Time: 7:43
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Deeb looking strong and in-control throughout the match, but Conti looked good as well. The experience difference was clear, but Conti showed a lot of skill and perseverance despite being out-wrestled for most of the match. This was a nice defense for Deeb, and it was a great experience for Conti as she gets better and better in the ring.
Match 6
TNT Title Match
“The Machine” Brian Cage (FTW Champ) w/ Taz, Ricky Starks, Hook vs Darby Allin (TNT Champ)
(referee: Paul Turner)
Result: Darby Allin wins via pinfall after a crucifix bomb from the second rope and retains the TNT Title in his first defense
Time: 13:18
Match Thoughts
Great match. This fight was almost nothing but huge moves. Cage threw Allin all over the place in the first few minutes, and it looked like the champ was being destroyed. Allin doesn’t give up though, and he survived long enough to begin to fight back with some big moves of his own. Team Taz of course started to get involved, and that brought out Sting to even the odds. This was a fun, brutal fight, and I wouldn’t mind seeing a rematch somewhere down the road.
Show Impressions
This was a good show focused on building characters and rivalries. The matches all went about like I expected them to, but that’s not a bad thing. It was all entertaining, and all worked to either build a rivalry or to build a performer.
Match of the Night
Brian Cage v Darby Allin
Watching this felt a bit like watching Mike Awesome versus Masato Tanaka back in ECW. Cage and Allin are certainly different physically than Awesome and Tanaka, but the way the match went from huge spot to huge spot with very little in-between felt like the carnage Awesome and Tanaka caused whenever they met one on one. And yeah, it was a lot of fun to watch.