AEW Dynamite
Episode 3
Original Air Date: October 16, 2019
Event Date: October 16, 2019
(aired live on TNT)
City: Philadelphia, PA
Venue: The Liacouras Center
Commentary: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Shiavone
Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts
Intro Video
“Dynamite” by No One Hero
Ring Area
Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels head to the ring for their tag tournament match, but they are attacked by the Lucha Brothers on the ramp. Pentagon Jr. hits Daniels with a package piledriver on the ramp. Fenix sets up Kaz for the same thing at ringside, but Scorpio Sky saves Kaz by running down and chasing the Lucha Bros away.
Referee Rick Knox brings out medical staff, and Daniels is attended to as the Young Bucks and CIMA also come out to check on him. Knox says Daniels can’t wrestle tonight, so Scorpio Sky says he will take Daniels’ place in the first match of the night.
Match 1
AEW World Tag Team Title Tournament First Round Match
Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky vs Best Friends
(referee: Rick Knox)
Result: Scorpio Sky pins Trent after a tandem powerbomb (Kazarian) and knee strike (Sky)
Time: 9:58
Match Thoughts
Very good match. The pre-match attack set Scorpio Sky up to be a hero, and he definitely got a great reaction. Sky didn’t take all the glory though. Everyone looked really good tonight. Best Friends started by completely dominating the match. They eliminated Sky from the ring and took turns beating up Kaz. After Sky tagged in though, the match opened up. Kaz ended up being legal late in the match, and he showed his experience and resilience as he survived and managed to direct his team to some smart teamwork.
Match 2
Alex Reynolds & John Silver vs Santana & Ortiz
(referee: Rick Knox)
Result: Santana pins John Silver after the Street Sweeper (tandem powerbomb [Ortiz] and blockbuster [Santana])
Time: 2:02
Match Thoughts
Squash. Reynolds never tagged in, and Silver got destroyed with ease.
Ring Area
After the match, Santana and Ortiz watch as Chris Jericho appears on the video screen. Jericho is proud of Santana and Ortiz, and he announces that Santana and Ortiz want to battle the Young Bucks at Full Gear.
Video
Brandi Rhodes, Diamond Dallas Page, Michelle Runnels, MJF, Jim Ross, and Tony Shiavone talk about how passionate Cody is, and how focused he is on defeating Jericho for the AEW World Title.
Match 3
AEW Women’s World Title Match
Dr. Britt Baker, DMD vs Riho (AEW Women’s Champ)
(referee: Paul Turner)
Result: Riho wins via pinfall with a pinning counter to Baker’s Lockjaw
Time: 8:21
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Baker frustrated Riho early, and Riho had trouble figuring out how to take Baker down at first. Riho started to get some offense as the match went on by hitting some well-timed counters and strikes. Baker started to put together some good strings of offense, but Riho somehow managed to survive. Late in the match, things got very tense with some close near falls and some extended submission attempts. I got invested in this match (since I’m a pretty big fan of Riho now), and I think it was done extremely well. Also, I’m not a huge fan of Baker’s current finisher, and I liked how the finish addressed some of the drawbacks to her Lockjaw hold.
Match 4
AEW World Tag Team Title First Round Match
Marko Stunt & Jungle Boy vs Lucha Brothers
(referee: Aubrey Edwards; watching from the front row: Private Party)
Result: Pentagon Jr. pins Marko Stunt after a tandem diving stomp (Fenix) and package piledriver (Pentagon Jr.)
Time: 11:33
Match Thoughts
This was fun. The Lucha Bros did not take the Jurassic Express seriously, and that let Jungle Boy and Marko Stunt get some fun and surprising offense early in the match. The Lucha Bros shut that down fairly quickly, but they again started playing with Jurassic Express as the show went to a commercial break. Jungle Boy and Stunt managed to get another, even better burst of offense later, but the Lucha Bros were tired of playing by that point. I would have liked to see what would have happened if Luchasaurus had been able to wrestle tonight (he was out with an injury), but this was still a fun match. I don’t think the result would have been different either way.
Match 5
Pac & Jon Moxley vs “Hangman” Adam Page & Kenny Omega
(referee: Bryce Remsburg)
Result: Adam Page pins Pac after Deadeye
Time: 15:06
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Everyone was ready to go tonight, and this was a battle. Neither team really did too much in the way of teamwork, but Omega and Page definitely worked better as a team (especially by the end of the match). Mostly, this was a match of individual efforts, and it worked well since both members of each team hates both members of their opposing team. I think everyone did a good job of making themselves stand out, though the upcoming match between Moxley and Omega felt like it took center stage tonight. Even so, Page and Pac did well and kept their names in people’s minds with what they did tonight.
Match 6
AEW World Title Philadelphia Street Fight
Darby Allin vs “The Painmaker” Chris Jericho (AEW World Champ)
(referee: Aubrey Edwards)
Result: Chris Jericho wins via submission with the Walls of Jericho
Time: 13:10
Match Thoughts
Good match. Jericho brought back the face paint and the Painmaker name from his time in New Japan for this match, and he did a good job dishing out some pain to Allin. Allin stood up for himself well, but the experience of Jericho was a big factor tonight. Jericho ended up taping Allin’s hands behind his back late in the match, but that actually seemed to give Allin more power. With nothing to lose, Allin hit some spectacular dives without the use of his arms. Ultimately, Jericho’s Inner Circle made their presence known and gave Jericho an added advantage that he didn’t really need, but it was fun to watch.
The one thing that felt odd to me was that there were rope breaks in the match. It’s fine if they want to have rope breaks in a street fight, but they should explain that beforehand. Ross and Shiavone went out of their way to explain that the referee was doing a good job by calling the rope breaks, but in a match with no disqualifications, it felt super strange. I mean, it’s okay to tape your opponent’s hands behind their back, but it’s not okay to have a pin attempt or submission too close to the edge of the ring? It’s weird.
Ring Area
After the match, Santana, Ortiz, and Sammy Guevara join Jake Hager and Chris Jericho in the ring. They’ve brought a little bit of the bubbly to celebrate tonight’s main event.
Show Impressions
This was another good show. I liked the emphasis on tag wrestling tonight, and the title matches were fun. I wasn’t worried about Jericho losing the title, but I did get a little nervous for Riho. That meant I was into the match, and I got into all the matches tonight for various reasons.
Match of the Night
SCU vs Best Friends
I think the pre-match shenanigans added to the excitement of the match, and the match was already good on its own.