AEW Dynamite
Episode 85
Blood & Guts
#AEWDynamite
Original Air Date: May 5, 2021
Event Date: May 5, 2021
(aired on TNT & the FITE app)
City: Jacksonville, FL
Venue: Daily’s Place
Commentary: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone
Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts
Intro Video
“Dynamite” by No One Hero
Match 1
MT Nakazawa & Kenny Omega (AEW World Champ) w/ Don Callis vs Eddie Kingston & Jon Moxley
(referee: Paul Turner)
Result: Jon Moxley pins MT Nakazawa after a combination half-and-half suplex (Kingston) & running lariat (Moxley)
Time: 8:02
Match Thoughts
This was a fun opener. Kenny Omega’s music played before the match, but initially only Don Callis and Nakazawa came out. Callis announced that Kenny Omega couldn’t be here tonight, and Nakazawa would be wrestling in a handicap match instead. Kingston and Moxley headed to the ring from the crowd, and Omega attacked them from behind as they neared ringside. That started a chaotic battle that was more of a fight than a match. After a lot of double-teaming from Omega and Nakazawa, the match started to settle into something that resembled an actual tag match, but after a while Imega decided to take a walk. Nakazawa was left to be destroyed by Kingston and Moxley, and the match ended about how I thought it would. This was entertaining, and it was a nice, small step in the ongoing feud with all of these guys.
Ring Area
After the match, the Young Bucks come out to the stage. As Kingston and Moxley are distracted by the Bucks, the Good Brothers attack Kingston and Moxley from behind. As the Bucks and Brothers destroy Kingston and Moxley, Omega comes back out to the ring with Brandon Cutler recording the whole thing. Omega hits Kingston with the One-Winged Angel, and The Elite celebrate.
Match 2
QT Marshall w/ Anthony Ogogo, Nick Comoroto, Aaron Solow vs “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes w/ Arn Anderson
(referee: Bryce Remsburg)
Result: Cody Rhodes wins via submission with a figure 4 leg lock
Time: 11:44
Match Thoughts
Very good match. This was a match that QT Marshall needed badly. After being completely dominated (aside from near-constant interference) in his match with Billy Gunn a few weeks ago, Marshall needed to have a good showing tonight against Cody. Marshall definitely had a good showing, and this ended up being a very entertaining grudge match. Both men fought hard, but Cody seemed to be more emotional. Cody was able to channel that emotion into aggression, and that helped him stay in the lead for a lot of this match. I think they maybe went a bit overboard with some of the kick-outs after a few moves that really should have ended the match, but I liked where they ended up regardless. That’s a pretty small nitpick anyway. I enjoyed this a lot.
Ring Area
After the match, Anthony Ogogo enters the ring and hits Cody with his bolo punch. Ogogo lays a Union Jack flag over Cody as he is face down on the match.
In the Balcony
Alex Marvez is with Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page. Sky says Sting is nothing more than a mosquito sucking the blood of AEW. Mosquitos should be squashed, and Sky is now the franchise player. Ethan Page talks about Darby Allin’s medical history, specifically the injuries Page has given Allin in the past.
As Ethan Page continues to speak, Darby Allin attacks them both. The fight moves across the concourse, and Allin is fairly quickly taken down with Page and Sky double-teaming him. Ethan Page throws Darby Allin down a flight of concrete steps. Allin is quickly attended to as Page and Sky laugh.
Match 3
Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. w/ Rebel (not Reba) vs Julia Hart
(referee: Paul Turner)
Result: Britt Baker wins via submission with the Lockjaw
Time: 1:30
Match Thoughts
Squash. Baker made short work of Julia Hart. It was announced that Baker, and the number one contender for the AEW Women’s Championship, will face Hikaru Shida at Double or Nothing, so this was a way to get Baker in some action on Dynamite (since most of her wins climbing the ranks have been on Dark and Dark: Elevation).
Technique by Taz
Taz explains why Christian’s frog splash and Killswitch are poorly executed.
Match 4
4-Way Tag Team Eliminator Match
Varsity Blonds vs Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus w/ Marko Stunt vs “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs The Acclaimed
(referee: Rick Knox)
Result: Frankie Kazarian pins Brian Pillman Jr. after the BME, and SCU will face the Young Bucks next week for the AEW Tag Team Championship
Time: 9:14
Match Thoughts
Very good match. As you might expect, this was fairly chaotic. People were in and out of the ring almost constantly, but it did still resemble a tag match. Tags were paid attention to for the most part, so the match never completely broke down into a mess of brawling. Everyone looked good, though Luchasaurus probably had the most dominant segment. Luchasaurus basically reset the match by himself by beating up all of his opponents with relative ease. Luchasaurus was eventually taken to ringside and effectively eliminated from the match, and the final few minutes had some really nice exchanges as SCU, Jungle Boy, and Brian Pillman Jr. all rushed to try to get a pin while other people were still recovering.
Video
A video package shows us the buildup for Jon Moxley’s defense of the IWGP US Heavyweight Title against Yuji Nagata next week on Dynamite! Moxley is pissed that he challenged Nagata with respect, but Nagata responded by calling Moxley a “little punk.”
Ring Area
At ringside, Tony Schiavone welcomes Kenny Omega (with MT Nakazawa carrying his Impact, TNA, and AAA Mega Championships). Omega doesn’t want to be here, and he wants Schiavone to hurry up and make his announcement. Schiavone announces that next week, the top two contenders for the AEW World Title, Pac and Orange Cassidy, will face each other with the winner going on to challenge Omega at Double or Nothing.
Omega knows everyone wants to wants to see Pac and Omega have another classic match, and he’s eager to just announce that match right now. Orange Cassidy walks up and puts his arm on Schiavone’s shoulder. Omega knows what Cassidy means for AEW, but someone like him would never be championship material. Cassidy will never take the title from Omega, but he has taken his valuable time. Therefore, Omega takes Cassidy’s sunglasses and puts them on Nakazawa. Omega says Cassidy won’t be challenging him any time soon, so he’ll see him in about ten years when he becomes a full-grown adult.
Ring Area
Still at ringside, Tony Schiavone welcomes Miro. Miro is here to collect on his destiny. Next week on Dynamite, Miro will challenge Darby Allin for the TNT Championship. In seven days, the world will find out what happens when the man who doesn’t mind dying meets the man who doesn’t mind killing him.
Match 5
Blood & Guts Match
The Pinnacle w/ Tully Blanchard vs The Inner Circle
(outside referees: Bryce Remsburg, Aubrey Edwards, )
Result: The Pinnacle wins when Sammy Guevara surrenders to stop MJF from throwing Chris Jericho off the top of the cage
Pre-Match Period: 17:01
All-Out Assault: 17:00
Total Time: 34:01
Entry Order
1. Sammy Guevara
1. Dax Harwood
3. Shawn Spears
4. Ortiz
5. Cash Wheeler
6. Santana
7. Wardlow
8. Jake Hager
9. MJF
10. Chris Jericho
Match Thoughts
This was a great and very fun match. It started strong with Sammy Guevara and Dax Harwood getting the fight off to a very fast pace, and the violence gradually increased as more and more men entered the ring. The Pinnacle had an solid advantage for a lot of the pre-match period thanks to their man-advantage in the entry order, but once the final member of the Inner Circle joined the fight, the Inner Circle began to dominate a large part of the official match.
The Pinnacle did lot of the setup work by tearing the ring apart to use as weapons, but the Inner Circle almost invariably used The Pinnacle’s own weapons against them. With The Inner Circle dominating so heavily for so long, Tully Blanchard and MJF ended up having to come up with a devious plan to even have a chance of winning. The Pinnacle had help in the fact that The Inner Circle were more concerned with hurting every member of The Pinnacle as much as possible without really going for many submissions or asking for a surrender. The longer the match went on, the more it felt like The Pinnacle had a better chance of catching The Inner Circle off guard (despite the fact that by the end of the match, The Pinnacle was being completely dominated physically).
There was a good amount of blood in the match, and there was a good amount of violence. On top of that, there was a good narrative to it with how the match flowed and how it ended. All ten men did a ton of work and put their bodies on the line in this great main event.
Ring Area
After the match, with MJF and Jericho still on top of the cage, MJF pushes Jericho off. Jericho lands on the stage and is quickly attended to by medical staff and AEW personnel. Bloodied, MJF welcomes the boos from the crowd while remaining on top of the cage.
Show Impressions
I enjoyed this a lot. With Blood & Guts dominating the second hour, the first hour was briskly paced with lots of wrestling back to back. There was a bit of a dip in action leading up directly to the Blood & Guts Match, but that also helped build anticipation. This show felt important in a lot of ways, and the various grudges were what really drove the entire night. Double or Nothing has the potential to be fantastic considering the heated state of all of the stories that were touched on tonight.
Match of the Night
Blood & Guts
I’m glad AEW finally had their Blood & Guts Match (it was originally supposed to be The Elite vs The Inner Circle early last year), and I’m glad they waited for a feud like this. I still don’t enjoy MJF all that much, but they did a great job building his character tonight. Sammy Guevara also really stood out, as did Santana and Ortiz.