AEW Dynamite
Episode 62
#AEWDynamite
Original Air Date: November 25, 2020
Event Date: November 25, 2020
(aired on TNT & the FITE app)
City: Jacksonville, FL
Venue: Daily’s Place
Commentary: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Taz (2), Eddie Kingston (6)
Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts
Intro Video
“Dynamite” by No One Hero
Match 1
“Hangman” Adam Page vs John Silver w/ Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, Alex Reynolds, Alan Angels, Preston Vance, Colt Cabana
(referee: Paul Turner)
Result: Adam Page wins via pinfall after the Buckshot Lariat
Time: 9:45
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Adam Page didn’t seem to take John Silver too seriously at first, and Silver was having some fun with the match, but things got more serious as the match went on. Silver was really the one to get things going with some nice chains of quick and effective offense. That forced Page to take Silver as a serious threat. As Page increased his attacks, Silver had some nice counters that kept the match competitive. Once again Silver has a very nice showing, and it helped Page move forward after his tough loss to Kenny Omega in the finals of the Eliminator Tournament.
Ring Area
After the match, Dark Order comes back out to the ring. Evil Uno talks to Page, saying he’s watched as Page repeatedly tried to leave one of the most popular groups in pro wrestling only to have the group not let him go. That sounds like a cult to Evil Uno. Uno says he and the Dark Order are here for Adam Page.
Backstage
Alex Marvez welcomes Kenny Omega. Omega talks about how the more things change, the more they stay the same. Last year before Omega lost to Moxley, he was the one with his face on magazines and his name at the top of pro wrestling. Now, about a year later, people are once again talking about Omega and the return of “The Cleaner.” One thing Omega doesn’t have is the AEW World Title, and that’s what he needs for people to really consider him the best in the world. As a gentleman’s challenge, Omega tells Moxley to leave the garbage wrestling at home. If Moxley want to be the best, beat him in the middle of the ring based on his ability. Omega ends his promo by responding to Moxley’s story from last week, saying that his dad could “beat the shit” out of Moxley’s dad.
Video
Darby Allin sets a car on fire.
Match 2
Powerhouse Hobbs w/ Taz vs Lee Johnson
(referee: Bryce Remsburg)
Result: Powerhouse Hobbs via pinfall after a powerslam
Time: 1:49
Match Thoughts
Squash. Johnson didn’t stand a chance against the newly renamed Powerhouse Hobbs.
Ring Area
After the match, Taz tells Hobbs to go celebrate while he takes care of some business. Taz has a problem with AEW disrespecting Team Taz and the FTW Title. Therefore, Taz will not leave the ring until someone from AEW management recognizes the FTW Championship. Taz’s mic gets cut off. Taz then insists that Justin Roberts hand him his mic, and he warns management that he’s going to go grab a headset and talk into that. Taz’s mic is cut off.
Cody Rhodes comes out to the ring. Cody says Taz should just leave because he’s wasting time. Team Taz already has a match with Cody and Darby Allin next week, so they can settle things then. Taz isn’t talking about next week though. He’s here right now to get AEW to show some respect to the FTW Title. As a member of management, Cody hears Taz and will “run it up the flagpole.” Obviously that’s not good enough for Taz, so Taz keeps talking. Clearly fed up, Cody gets in Taz’s face and says that if FTW means so much, then why is Taz’s son training with Cody and not with his own father.
Off the mic, Taz tells Cody he’s gone too far. Taz starts to walk away, but he turns around and puts Cody in the Tazmission. The Gunn Club, Duston Rhodes, and QT Marshall rush into the ring to help Cody. Taz leavess, and he walks away with his son Hook.
Backstage
Alex Marvez welcomes Eddie Kingston. Kingston says he isn’t mad at Penta El Zero M for joining with Rey Fenix and Pac, but he is really disappointed. Kingston talks about going to war when Jon Moxley walks up. Kingston says it wasn’t him that attacked Moxley last week. Without saying a word, Moxley walks away.
Match 3
Top Flight vs The Hybrid2
(referee: Rick Knox)
Result: Angelico submits Dante Martin with the Navarro Death Roll
Time: 10:44
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Top Flight are fun to watch, but the experience and wrestling ability of TH2 very much on display tonight. Top Flight had some nice sequences of fast and fun offense which seemed to surprise TH2 at first, but TH2 pulled themselves together and had some great teamwork as the match went on. Top Flight is getting some great experience with some top-tier teams, so they can’t help but develop and get better and better as part of AEW.
Ring Area
After the match, TH2 attacks Top Flight. The Young Bucks are quick to run out and chase TH2 away.
Backstage
Vickie Guerrero (with Nyla Rose) accuses Brandi Rhodes of nepotism. Vickie’s association with Jade Cargill has nothing to do with nepotism though. She also says that if Brandi needs any advice, then Brandi should call her.
Video
FTR says their match with the Young Bucks was supposed to be a dream match, but it was a nightmare for them. The Bucks were better for three seconds, but FTR is still the best tag team in the world. Still, FTR needs the tag titles, and Tully needs to lead them there.
Match 4
Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs Jake Hager & “The Demo God” “Le Champion” Chris Jericho w/ Sammy Guevara, Santana, Ortiz, MJF, Wardlow
(referee: Aubrey Edwards)
Result: Jake Hager pins Christopher Daniels after the Judas Effect from Jericho (and a punch from MJF and his Dynamite Dozen ring)
Time: 11:01
Match Thoughts
Very good match. With the entire Inner Circle at ringside and only two-thirds of SCU out for this match, the odds were heavily stacked against Daniels and Kazarian. For that reason, SCU tried to stick and move as much as they could. SCU started well, but Daniels got caught and isolated fairly early in the match. Daniels and Kaz are a great veteran team though, and they fought back to gain an advantage. The Inner Circle at ringside made the finish of the match feel inevitable though. There was a ton of chaos whenever anyone would venture outside the ring, and even though Kazarian took the fight to them at one point, the numbers caught up to SCU in the end. It was still a really fun match though. Jim Ross also informed us that this was the first time Christopher Daniels and Chris Jericho have ever faced each other in the ring as well, so that was cool to see.
Ring Area
After the match, The Inner Circle get into the ring. Kazarian punches MJF for attacking Daniels during the match, and that prompts the Inner Circle to attack. Kazarian is held back as MJF gets his ring ready for another punch, but Scorpio Sky runs out with a chair to chase the Inner Circle away.
Backstage
Kip Sabian welcomes us to the debut of the Kip and Miro Video Game Extravaganza. As he speaks, Orange Cassidy walks into the from, looks at Sabian, and turns off Sabian’s XBox Series X. Cassidy walks out of the room, and Kip and Miro follow. They’re met with Best Friends, and a brawl breaks out. The segment ends when Miro grabs the camera and yells at the camera-person.
Ring Area
Tony Schiavone is in the ring to once again try to oversee the contract signing between Omega and Moxley. Kenny Omega is announced first, and as he stands in the entranceway, he is attacked from behind by Moxley. Moxley beats up Omega all the way to the ring where Moxley hits Omega with the Paradigm Shift on the AEW World Title belt. With Omega down, Moxley blames Omega for hiring someone to attack him last week. Moxley says he thought their beef was squashed a year ago, but then Omega went and pissed him of. This attack makes them even though. If Omega want to take the AEW World Title from his, he has to climb a mountain no one has been able to climb in eight months. He has to beat Jon Moxle, and he’s only going to have one shot. Moxley signs the contract that Omega signed last week.
Backstage
Alex Marvez welcomes the Inner Circle. MJF is furious that Frankie Kazarian sucker-punched him. Chris Jericho is upset that Kazarian would act like that after a fair-and-square match. Next week, for the first time ever, Jericho will fight Kazarian one on one.
Video
A look at Anna Jay’s journey to her title match with Hikaru Shida. Jay says she’s a different person from the last time she faced Shida. Shida says Anna Jay doesn’t need a title belt, she needs more heart.
Match 5
AEW Women’s World Title Match
Anna Jay w/ Tay Conti, John Silver, Alan Angels, Preston Vance vs Hikaru Shida (AEW Women’s Champ)
(referee: Rick Knox)
Result: Hikaru Shida wins via pinfall after Tamashii and retains the title in her fifth defense
Time: 7:41
Match Thoughts
Good match. Anna Jay brought a bit of a wild feeling to the match. Jay was looking to beat up Shida, and that really seemed to be her only game plan. Well, that and having Tay Conti and members of Dark Order at ringside. Jay was able to avoid some of Shida’s more powerful moves, but after a while Shida was connecting more and more. That led Jay to call for a chair from Conti. Conti didn’t want to hand Jay the chair, but the distraction allowed Dark Order to toss Jay a kendo stick. Jay’s attack with the kendo stick was the most tense moment of the match. I didn’t really believe Jay would win, but in the moment I thought there might be a chance. Ultimately though, this was a solid defense from the champ and a way to further the story between Jay and Conti’s differing views on cheating.
Ring Area
After the match, as Shida is celebrating on the stage, Abadon crawls out of the entranceway. Shida trips as she jumps backward, and she drops the AEW Women’s Title belt. Shida watches as Abadon picks up the belt and licks it.
Backstage
The iconic Matt Hardy, the most creative and innovative trailblazer in pro wrestling history, thinks it’s his duty as a superstar to inspire all of us to push forward and survive in 2020. All was right with the world when he beat Sammy Guevara, so if Matt can overcome his own great challenges, then we can overcome all of our pedestrian worries. If we ever feel like giving up, we should just ask ourselves, “what would Matt Hardy do?” The answer is: survive, thrive, win.
Backstage
Ricky Starks, Brian Cage, and Powerhouse Hobbs aren’t happy about how Taz was treated earlier in the night. Starks says Team Taz loves it in AEW, but he has a problem with Cody Rhodes. Starks says Cody’s ego gets in his way, and he doesn’t appreciate how Cody brought Taz’s kid into his argument with Taz.
Match 6
The Butcher & The Blade w/ The Bunny, Eddie Kingston vs Rey Fenix & “The Bastard” Pac w/ Penta El Zero M
(referee: Bryce Remsburg)
Result: The Blade pins Rey Fenix after a tandem neckbreaker (Blade) and powerbomb (Butcher) after Eddie Kingston pushes Fenix off the top rope
Time: 13:00
Match Thoughts
Very good match. This was speed versus power in a great way. Pac and Fenix were all over the place while Butcher and Blade were more grounded with their powerful attacks. The momentum would swing back and forth with a series of moves from Fenix and Pac followed by a few big slams or strikes from Butcher and Blade. This was a lot of fun, and I think this feud could be important for everyone involved.
Ring Area
After the match, The Butcher and The Blade continue to attack Death Triangle. Eddie Kingston then hits Pac with two DDTs on a chair. Kingston starts to go for a third when Lance Archer (followed by Jake Roberts) runs out to the ring. Archer clears the ring as he goes to attack Kingston. Kingston escapes relatively unscathed, but Kingston and his family are forced to retreat.
Show Impressions
This was a fun show. There was a whole lot packed into it, and there wasn’t anything I didn’t enjoy in some capacity. Within the context of story lines I did think it was odd that Anna Jay got a title match, but it ended up working out well for both wrestlers’ characters, so that’s cool. I was also surprised to see Lance Archer come out at the end like that, although it does make sense that he would be going after Eddie Kingston. Kingston is making a lot of enemies, and it will be interesting to see how this feud affects Archer’s character. I’m also really enjoying the Team Taz stuff, Death Triangle, Adam Page and Dark Order, and I even enjoyed the segments MJF was in.
Match of the Night
The Butcher & The Blade vs Rey Fenix & Pac
Any combination of the wrestlers involved in this feud is going to be highly entertaining.