***CONTAINS SPOILERS***
Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE—and just days removed from the REVOLUTION pay-per-view—was broadcast live on TNT from the 1stBank Center in Denver, CO!
Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Jim Ross were the broadcast team for the event.
New AEW World Champion Jon Moxley kicked off tonight’s DYNAMITE!
“You see this belt right here? It’s the AEW World Championship. It represents professional wrestling. The sport that I love! The sport that I have dedicated my life to. This belt never belonged to Chris Jericho. Hell—this belt doesn’t belong to me. This belt belongs to you. Each and every one of you in this building tonight, and not just that—every AEW fan watching around the world that helped will this company into existence. Every AEW fan out there that said ‘We want something different. We want something better.’ We brought pro wrestling back!
“I know it’s not over between me and the Inner Circle. They’ve been trying to take me out for two months. I’ve got a message for the whole Inner Circle: I dare you.”
Former champ Chris Jericho and the Inner Circle walked out onto the stage.
“Moxley, I don’t need a damn belt to be Le Champion,” said Jericho. “The Moxley Era has begun and I think it sucks! I’ll tell you why: your championship win was based on a lie, Moxley. You’re a cheater. You’re a liar. I spent the better part of three months training to face a man with one eye, and the fact that you could see out of both is not an action worthy of a champion. It makes you a snake oil salesmen and a cheater.
“And since you won that title so unfairly, you’ve created a big problem. You’ve turned the Inner Circle into a damn hit squad. So it’s official. The Inner Circle is putting the entire AEW roster on notice! And Mox, we’re going to start with you. I’ll take a leave of absence from AEW for 60 days if you walk out on your own tonight. Mox, don’t forget, I’ve always got a plan, and you’re not as smart as you think you are.”
“Chris, I’m going to do exactly what I did Saturday at REVOLUTION on pay-per-view in Chicago,” replied Moxley. “And this time I’m going to send you packing for 60 days!”
The opening match was “Boom Boom” Colt Cabana & SCU (“Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, & Scorpio Sky) against The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, John Silver, & Alex Reynolds)!
“The Dark Order are the #1 ranked tag team in AEW,” noted Tony Schiavone.
After some classic catch-wrestling, Colt took down Grayson with head scissors. The Dark Order swarmed Colt, until Colt finally got the tag and SCU evened up the odds. Silver isolated Daniels while the Dark Order began to work over CD in their corner. Grayson stomped down on Daniels chest, then tagged Silver in who gave some wicked forearms to the “Fallen Angel.” As the beat down continued, Evil Uno shouted, “You should have joined, Chris! You should have joined!”
A brawl broke out between both teams. SCU teed off on Evil Uno. Daniels took flight with a tope suicida on Grayson!
Cabana came in and got the pinfall victory via the Chicago Skyline and the Superman finisher!
“No, no, this is not how it was supposed to go,” yelled Evil Uno. “When the Exalted One arrives, heads will roll!”
Dr. Britt Baker joined the commentary team for the next match, Big Swole vs. “the Librarian” Leva Bates!
The Librarian hit Big Swole with a hardcover book and then a backstabber. But Big Swole made short work of Leva, with a head kick, a cutter, and then with her finisher, Dirty Dancing, for the three count!
“The American Nightmare” Cody, in his business attire, came down to the ring next!
“Cody has taken over the arena! They love this kid. This is genuine love of an athlete. Because they believe in him!” said Jim Ross.
“I don’t know if I want to broach the subject of what it means personally to lose to MJF. But I can tell you professionally what it means. But the only way I’d be comfortable with it at all is if MJF comes out here right now, looks me in the eye, and tells me he beat me fair and square,” said Cody.
Instead of MJF, it was Jake “the Snake” Roberts who came out to the ring!
“I hate the spoil the party. But damn, man, I got tired of listening to you cry. I never cried over one match in my career,” said Roberts. “Don’t you understand you got your ass kicked? MJF handed it right to you. But that’s not why I’m here.
“I’m not here to praise you. I’m here to slay you. The only reason I’m here is because the dark side will be coming to AEW, and once our roots have taken hold, it’ll be like a phoenix rising from the ashes.
“It’s been 20 years for me Cody, to get clean, to get right. By God, I’ve earned it! And if you think for one minute, that I’m going to be a nice boy and play right, my man you’ve got another thing coming. I will be on the outside of the ring when my client faces you, and you can bring that one-trick pony Arn Anderson with you. Oh Caesar, you see I’m not in AEW to take the whole pie—just your share, Cody.
“A wise man once told me, ‘You never ever turn your back on someone who you respect or who you’re afraid of…’” and Jake “the Snake” Roberts proceeded to turn away from Cody and exit the ring.
“The Bastard” PAC vs. Chuck Taylor (w/ Trent and Orange Cassidy)!
PAC and Taylor squared up in the center of the ring, and PAC took Taylor down with a side headlock.
“Trying to catch PAC is like trying to pour smoke through a keyhole,” said Jim Ross.
PAC went to the outside of the ring to confront Orange Cassidy, but Chuckie T. caught a distracted PAC with a baseball slide. Trent used a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on PAC, but PAC was up on his feet in no time with a shoulder tackle to Chuckie T.
Chuck went over the top with a pescado to PAC!
“Chuck Taylor has PAC rattled,” said Excalibur.
Chuck lured PAC into the corner and connected with the awful waffle for a two count! Chuck followed up with a moonsault, but no one was home! PAC grabbed Chuck and sunk in the Brutalizer submission for the victory!
Orange Cassidy locked eyes with PAC in the ring after the match. The Lucha Brothers ran out and superkicked Cassidy. PAC wiped out Trent!
PAC announced that he had formed an alliance with the Lucha Brothers and they are called “Death Triangle”!
In a video recorded earlier in the night, Shawn Spears and Tully Blanchard said they’re still searching for the perfect tag team partner for Spears. #SearchForSpears
QT Marshall (accompanied by Brandi Rhodes and “The Natural” Dustin Rhodes) vs. the Inner Circle’s “Big Hurt” Jake Hager (with Santana & Ortiz at ringside)!
Hager quickly wrestled QT to the mat. QT tried jumping off the middle rope and Hager hit him with a running shoulder. Dustin Rhodes paced outside the ring. The fans chanted for QT as he tried to fight back with fists to Hager’s midsection.
Hager went for the Vader Bomb but QT got the boots up, and then followed up with some explosive right hands. QT attempted a swinging DDT but Hager tossed him across the ring and locked in the standing arm triangle to put QT to sleep!
Dustin Rhodes ran in to break up Hager’s hold. Santana, Ortiz and Hager triple-teamed Dustin Rhodes until Cody ran down to help Dustin and QT! Cody was taking care of business until he was hit from behind. Santana, Ortiz and Hager were hammering Cody but then Matt Jackson joined the fray to help!
Matt Jackson superkicked Ortiz and Santana! He stood toe-to-toe with Jake Hager, punching him down to one knee! Jackson ran into the ropes but Hager kneed him.
“Hangman” Page slowly strolled out with a drink in hand. “Hangman” put down his beer in the corner and started clobbering Santana and Ortiz, then used the Buckshot Lariat to pounce Hager.
“Hangman” Page gave a middle finger to Matt Jackson and then left to grab some beers from the ringside fans.
The Main Event was next!
Le Champion Chris Jericho & “The Spanish God” Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin & AEW World Champ Jon Moxley!
As Mox was making his way to the ring through the fans, three men wearing luchador masks assaulted him. In the arena concourse, as they continued to lay in shots to Moxley, they unmasked: it was Jake Hager, Santana and Ortiz of the Inner Circle!
Chris Jericho laughed in the ring as he watched the beat down on the monitors. Mox tried to fight back to his feet, but Hager applied the arm-and-head choke, neutralizing the champ.
“Darby Allin has to take on both men by himself apparently,” said Tony Schiavone.
The bell rang and Darby blasted Sammy with a shotgun dropkick!
Momentum shifted as Sammy used a running knee strike on Darby, right on target! Jericho tagged in and gave Darby a back suplex.
Doc Sampson tended to Moxley in the arena concourse while the Inner Circle left him and walked to the ringside area to watch Jericho and Sammy.
Jericho sat down deep with the Walls of Jericho on Darby! Jericho had to break the hold when Darby finally grabbed the bottom rope. Jericho pushed Darby to the outside and Hager snuck in a few kicks.
Darby smashed Jericho with fiery forearms, but Le Champion hurled Darby over the ringside barrier! Back in the ring, Jericho dropped Darby with a stalling vertical suplex. Jericho and Sammy laughed at Darby, posing in unison, and then taunted him. Darby desperately needed to tag, but this was basically a two-on-one match.
Darby rallied back and clotheslined Jericho over the top rope. Darby sacrificed his own body and jumped through the ropes to the outside onto Jericho! Unfortunately, Darby had taken a lot of punishment by this point, and Sammy capitalized on this: he picked up Darby and pancaked him to the mat, even managing to kick him on the way down!
Jericho tagged in and dished out forearms to Darby, and once again, Darby fought back! Jericho went for the LionSault but Darby lifted his knees, knocking the wind out of Jericho.
Darby tagged…well, he tagged in himself, nailing the Coffin Drop to the Inner Circle on the outside of the ring! Darby followed up with a stunner on Sammy, and then another Coffin Drop for a near fall! Darby launched himself to the outside onto Jericho, but Jericho countered with the Judas Effect, just as Darby was midflight. Sammy covered Darby for the pin!
The Inner Circle celebrated in the ring. Moxley appeared at the top of the entrance ramp, breaking free from Doc Sampson. Mox hit a Paradigm Shift on Sammy before Hager took Mox out. The Inner Circle outnumbered Mox and they powerbombed Mox off the ramp right through a table!
“My God what has the Inner Circle done to the champion? The Inner Circle has never been more dangerous!” said Jim Ross.
Catch all the action next Wednesday, March 11th, as AEW DYNAMITE is broadcast live on TNT from the Maverik Center in Salt Lake City, UT!