AEW Dynamite
Episode 94
Road Rager
#AEWDynamite
Original Air Date: July 7, 2021
Event Date: July 7, 2021
(aired live on TNT & the FITE app)
City: Miami, FL
Venue: James L. Knight Center
Commentary: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Don Callis (5)
Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts
Intro Video
“Dynamite” by No One Hero
Match 1
South Beach Strap Match
“The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes w/ Arn Anderson vs QT Marshall w/ Aaron Solow, Nick Comoroto
(referee: Paul Turner)
Result: Cody Rhodes wins after touching all four corners after hitting QT Marshall with three Cross Rhodes
Time: 10:40
Match Thoughts
Very good match. This was a classic-rules strap match where the winner must touch all four corners in unbroken succession. Marshall didn’t want to get strapped to Cody, but Cody started the action with a suicide dive which allowed referee Paul Turner to strap Marshall. The match was mostly dominated by Cody. Marshall got a little offense here and there, but overall this really felt like this match was meant to close the book on Cody versus Marshall. Marshall was busted open partway through the match, Solow and Comoroto at ringside were negated by the appearance of Dustin Rhodes, and Marshall didn’t even get a televised ring entrance (he was already in the ring when the show started). This was a fun way to start the night.
Backstage
Earlier today, Shawn Spears talked about Sammy Guevara’s ego, but Spears is hit in the head by a chair thrown by Sammy from off camera.
Ring Area
In the ring, Tony Schiavone welcomes Kenny Omega (with Don Callis). Callis excuses Schiavone from the ring, and Callis talks about the history he and Omega have made lately. Callis is proud of what he and Omega have accomplished, and he says there is no one left for Omega to defeat. As the crowd chants “we want Hangman,” the Dark Order comes out to the stage.
Evil Uno enters the ring and asks Kenny Omega why he is ignoring tonight’s crowd, why he is ignoring the #1 ranked male wrestler in AEW, and why Omega is so afraid of Evil Uno’s friend. Omega responds with a question of his own: what is the capital of Thailand? As Evil Uno begins to respond, Omega gives Uno the answer by kicking him in the groin. Dark Order rushes towards the ring, but the Good Brothers and Michael Nakazawa run out and handle most of Dark Order. Stu Grayson makes it into the ring, but he is dispatched by Omega. Evil Uno is about to get destroyed when Adam Page runs to the ring. Page takes out Nakazawa and the Good Brothers, but Omega escapes unharmed.
Video
Earlier today, Jim Ross sat down with Ethan Page and Darby Allin. JR asks Page and Allin about their shared history that has created so much animosity between them. Allin talks about how Page is angry that he had been wrestling for so much longer than Allin, but Allin found success much quicker. Page says if it wasn’t for him, then Allin would still be languishing in obscurity and living in his car. Page says he brought Allin into wrestling, and next week in the Coffin Match, Page will take Allin out of wrestling.
Match 2
FTR & Wardlow w/ Tully Blanchard vs Santana & Ortiz & Jake Hager w/ Konnan
(referee: Aubrey Edwards)
Result: Wardlow pins Jake Hager after The Big Rig (by FTR)
Time: 9:01
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Inner Circle had way better three-man teamwork than The Pinnacle, and Inner Circle dominated most of this match. FTR put together some good tandem offense, but Wardlow did his own thing for the most part. The finish was a little odd as well with Inner Circle making two huge, unforced errors, but it mostly made sense. The action up to the finish was fun though.
Ring Area
After the match, Konnan enters the ring and hits Wardlow in the back with Ortiz’s madball. Tully Blanchard comes up from behind and chop blocks Konnan. The Pinnacle then leaves the ring as Santana and Ortiz attend to Konnan.
Video
The Good Brothers have a problem with Jon Moxley and the fact that he is still holding the IWGP United States Title. Next week, Karl Anderson will challenge Moxley for the title.
Ring Area
MJF and Jericho head to the ring for a face-to-face confrontation. MJF thinks it’s sad that Jericho is groveling for another chance to beat him, but he also understands. After all, everyone wants a piece of MJF. MJF has some stipulations for Jericho if he wants another match, and Jericho says he’ll accept those stipulations no matter what they are.
The crowd goes silent as MJF starts talking about Greek mythology in a big stretch to tie Jericho’s “Demo God” nickname into the stipulations he’s prepared. MJF says Jericho will wrestle four matches in a row with different stipulations picked by MJF. If Jericho can get through those four matches, then he’ll get a match with MJF including yet another stipulation. Jericho accepts the challenge and promises to ruin MJF’s life. Jericho signs that contract prepared for him, but MJF demands Jericho shake his hand. Jericho shakes, then he hits MJF with the Judas Effect.
Backstage
Earlier today, Tony Schiavone spoke with Britt Baker (with Rebel). Baker is angry about last week’s match, saying she was driven through a table and Rebel was injured all because Tony Khan allowed Vickie Guerrero to have a match nobody wanted to see just because she brought Andrade El Idolo into AEW. Baker hopes Tony Khan is happy with his blood money, and hey, maybe AEW can put on a show in Saudi Arabia too. Baker also says Nyla Rose will never take the AEW Women’s Title from her.
Match 3
Matt Sydal vs Andrade El Idolo w/ Vickie Guerrero
(referee: Bryce Remsburg)
Result: Andrade El Idolo wins via pinfall after El Idolo (hammerlock flatliner)
Time: 7:38
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Andrade looked good tonight. He was powerful and everything looked like it came easy to him, but his confidence/arrogance had him wrestling a somewhat methodical match. The slower pace taken by Andrade allowed Matt Sydal to get in a good amount of quick offense. So even though the winner of the match was never really in doubt since this is Andrade’s AEW in-ring debut, the match was still nicely competitive.
Video
A look at the long rivalry between Christian Cage and Matt Hardy. Hardy challenges Christian to a match at Fyter Fest night 1, and Christian accepts.
Ring Area
In the ring, Tony Schiavone welcomes Arn Anderson. As Arn begins to speak, the lights in the venue go out. When the lights come back on, Tommy End/Malakai Black is in the ring. Black kicks Anderson in the face, and when Cody Rhodes runs out to check on Anderson, Black kicks Cody in the face as well. Arn and Cody are both down in the ring as Malakai Black walks away.
Ring Area
Before tonight’s show, Ricky Starks (with three personal security guards) got into the ring and started insulting Brian Cage prior to their FTW Title match next week. Taz, Hook, and Powerhouse Hobbs wondered what Starks was doing, but Cage got pissed one Starks mentioned his wife. Cage destroyed Starks’ security, but Starks got away.
Match 4
Mixed Tag Team Match
The Bunny & The Blade vs Kris Statlander & “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy
(referee: Aubrey Edwards)
Result: Kris Statlander pins The Bunny after the Big Bang Theory
Time: 8:29
Match Thoughts
This was fun. The nature of a mixed tag match often makes for a bunch of stops and starts, but the action in this match didn’t dip too much. It seemed like the majority of the match was fought between Kris Statlander and The Bunny, and in the end this felt like a match building up Statlander. The Bunny and The Blade has some devious plans, but Statlander was the smartest person in the room and tricked the tricksters. With how some of the action went though, I’d like to see this again but in an inter-gender match.
Video
Earlier today, jungle Boy was awarded a trophy for being the first person in AEW to reach 50 wins.
Ringside
Tony Schiavone is with Jorge Masvidal, Amanda Nunes, and Dan Lambert, but Lambert takes Schiavone’s mic as Tony begins to speak. Lambert gets into the ring and complains about how much AEW sucks. Lambert prefers old-school wrestling, and he drops a whole lot of names of wrestlers from the 70s and 80s. Lambert goes on about how Tony Khan was trying to convince him how good AEW and its fans are, but, ninety minutes into the show, Lambert is not convinced.
Lance Archer, apparently hearing enough, walks out, enters the ring, and smashes Lambert in the head with an forearm. Archer quickly picks Lambert up and hits him with Blackout.
Match 5
AEW Tag Team Title Street Fight
Eddie Kingston & Penta El Zero Miedo w/ Alex Abrahantes vs The Young Bucks (AEW Tag Champs) w/ Brandon Cutler, Don Callis, Michael Nakazawa
(referee: Rick Knox)
Result: Matt & Nick Jackson pin Eddie Kingston after a superkick from Matt with thumbtacks in Kingston’s mouth, the Young Bucks retain the titles in their eighth defense
Time: 14:18
Match Thoughts
Great match. Kingston and Penta started the action quickly, and they tended to be the better fighters throughout the match. The Young Bucks had numbers on their side though, and the distractions from Brandon Cutler and Michael Nakazawa certainly helped the champs from time to time. The fight was kind of a mess as you might expect, but it was glorious violence from two great teams. Late in the match, Kingston and Penta began to push towards what could have been a win, but referee Rick Knox was taken out by Nick Jackson. That prompted the Good Brothers to come out and join the fight, and that prompted “The Elite Hunter” Frankie Kazarian to come out and try to help even the odds. The fight ultimately came down to the two teams in the ring and a while bunch of thumbtacks. As is often the case now with the Young Bucks, there were some frustrating false finishes before the match was finally over, but it all worked really well to create a very fun main event title match.
Show Impressions
This was a fun show. being in a different venue with a different crowd for the first time in a very long time definitely gave the show a different feeling, and that was mostly a good thing. The undercard matches didn’t necessarily feel super important, but they were all entertaining. I was a but surprised with how matter-of-fact the strap match felt. It really dis feel like they were moving on from the Nightmare Family versus The Factory, and that feeling was reinforced by Malakai Black taking out Arn Anderson and Cody Rhodes. I’m very excited to see Malakai Black in AEW though, so I’m not mad at all that The Factory will be moving towards something else.
The biggest surprise for me tonight was Dan Lambert’s promo. I didn’t know who the guy was before tonight, and I rolled my eyes when I saw him starting to cut a promo. He did a great job though, and he is either truly a longtime fan, or he was getting fed some good information with the names he was dropping. Either way, I loved his promo, and I loved Lance Archer’s reaction. Whenever AEW comes back to Miami, Dan Lambert should show up again and try to get some revenge on Archer. I really think Lambert and Archer could be the Pete Rose and Kane of AEW.
And yeah, the main event tag match was a lot of fun. I didn’t see Kingston and Penta winning, if only because I didn’t see the Young Bucks losing twice in a row. Plus, Even though Penta and Kingston have had a longterm connection in AEW, the teaming of them over the past few weeks has felt somewhat thrown together because of injuries and time off. Regardless, I knew the match would be fun, and it was. Plus, being AEW’s first road show in a long time, there was still the possibility of a huge surprise like a title change. Ultimately though, I kind of want to see Santana and Ortiz take the titles from the Young Bucks. Inner Circle will have to finish up with The Pinnacle for that to happen, but out of all the teams in AEW, I feel like Santana and Ortiz are the most overdue or a title reign.
Match of the Night
AEW Tag Team Title Street Fight
This was easily the most important match of the night, and it was a bunch of fun, violent chaos.