AEW Dynamite 11/11/20 Quick Take

Match Number 1: Brian Cage vs. Matt Sydal

Before the match, Team Taz cuts a quick promo on Darby Allin and Cody Rhodes, letting them know that their business is far from over. Match wise, this was fine. Cage looks his best when he has a smaller opponent. Sydal is perfect for this because while he is a smaller competitor, he is still a credible threat with his speed and striking ability. Matt did well but eventually got caught with a Drill-Claw, giving the machine a much-needed win.

Segment: Cody Rhodes

Cody is out looking like a million bucks. He puts over the new TNT Champion, Darby Allin, and mentions that there will be no rematch…yet. Cody states that he is going to be focused on MFJ next. He is quickly interrupted by newcomer Jade Cargill. Jade runs down Cody, questioning his “Giant Killer” moniker, and talks about her history with a famous giant…Shaq?!?!? Jade gets cut off and confronted by Brandi as they get pulled apart by Jerry Lynn. Amongst the confusion, Cody gets attacked by Brian Cage and Ricky Starks but gets saved by Darby Allin who is wearing a thumbtack covered jacket. Will Hobbs is out next as the heels run off. I liked parts of this. I enjoyed the dynamic of Rhodes, Allin, and Hobbs a lot. I didn’t care for Jade’s promo. It felt random and forced. I know she’s new but it really showed. I’m also not a fan of getting Shaq involved. Nothing against Shaq, I just don’t care for celebrity wrestling segments in wrestling.

Segment: Jon Moxley

The AEW champ is being interviewed by Alex Marvez. John discusses his last title defense and talks about what being the champ means to him. He talks about Kenny Omega and how he has beaten him once before and that getting that second win would be rare but it could be done. This was fun. Moxley is quite good at getting you to believe in what he’s saying. You can tell that this match with Omega means a lot to him.

Match Number 2: The Natural Nightmares vs. The Butcher and The Blade

This was a Bunkhouse Brawl and I couldn’t remember that last one I’ve seen on live national TV. The match itself was surprisingly brutal. I admit that when this was announced, I wasn’t into it much. I was glad I was wrong. This was silly, violent, and entertaining. Q.T. and Blade were bloody messes by the end and Butcher looked like an absolute beast. There were a lot of moving parts to this. There were ladders, chains, cowbells, tables, and everything in between. Q.T gets the win after giving Blade a Diamond Cutter. This was definitely overkill on a throwaway feud but it did its job.

Segment: MJF/Inner Circle

Chris Jericho and The Inner Circle (minus Sammy Guevara) are out to officially induct their new members. MJF and Wardlow arrive and an overly emotional Maxwell reads a poem that he “wrote” for the occasion. Santana calls out Max for ripping off a Drake song and tells Chris not to trust his new teammates but gets shut down by Jericho. MJF switches gears and helps the IC celebrate the Demo-God’s birthday by taking everyone to Vegas next week. I liked this segment. We all know somebody is going to get screwed over at some point. The question is when and by whom.

Match Number 3: Shawn Spears vs. Scorpio Sky

This was a match that was supposed to happen a little while ago but was rescheduled to the pandemic. This was OK. Maybe it was because of the delay but I felt that this feud has lost a little steam. Sky is so good though that he elevates whoever he’s in the ring with. Tully Blanchard was the x-factor here. Blanchard tossing the metal slugs to Spears AND Sky was an interesting twist. Spears wins after Sky was unwilling to use the weapon was a nice play.

Segment: Kenny Omega

Kenny is outside with Alex Marvez to give his retort to Moxley’s earlier promo. He brings up some of the past criticisms people have had with him throughout AEW’s existence He says that he is ready to be the best in the world again and prove that the Best Bout Machine never really went anywhere. This is probably the first Kenny promo in a long time where I saw glimpses of the Omega of old. The segment itself was quick but effective.

Match Number 4: Red Velvet vs. Tay Conti

This was the show’s one and only Women’s division match. It was fine for what it was. Both women looked really good here and I think both will go far in the division. The match was an interesting parallel to the previous match as Anna Jay tossed in a chair for Tay. Like Scorpio Sky did earlier, Conti refuses the assistance. However, she does get the W after a pump kick.

Match Number 5: Rey Fenix vs. Penta El Zero Miedo

Again, this could have headlined a PPV, easily. I was having flashbacks of Lucha Underground or AAA and I loved it. The story of Eddie Kingston being able to manipulate the Lucha Bros. into dang near killing each was fantastic. Penta got to show off some truly unique offense including a really cool front somersault DDT. Fenix reminded everyone that he is one of the most talented high flyers in wrestling. Being a lucha fan, watching the brothers try to rip off each other’s mask was awesomely cruel. Penta beats his brother with a Package Piledriver. After the match, Eddie Kingston celebrates with his best friend and literally kicks Fenix out of the ring, even calling him dead weight. Eddie is then interrupted by the returning Pac. The Bastard goes straight for Eddie before AEW goes off the air.

Final Thoughts

1. This episode felt like a reset of sorts as the dust from Full Gear started to settle.

2. AEW does like to play off of their “something for everyone” philosophy and this show did deliver on that.

3. It was odd that all of the champions were shown on TV tonight…except for Hikaru Shida.

4. Eddie against Pac has the potential to be really cool but I do wonder where this leaves the Lucha Bros. and Butcher and Blade.

#InnerCircle #prowrestling #JonMoxley #ChrisJericho #AEWDynamite #KennyOmega