AEW Dynamite 12/9/2020 Quick Takes

The Young Bucks vs. The Hybrid 2

On paper, this could have been a great show opener and in some ways it was. There was a frantic and high-octane pace that was a lot of fun. On the other hand, there was something that wasn’t clicking for me on this one. Both teams have a reputation for not being the greatest sellers on the planet and this match accentuated this point. When one of the main beats of the match relies on selling moves and that has been problematic during the match, the overall performance is hindered. I will say that both teams are still freakishly athletic and if high-speed offense and crazy dives are your cups of tea, then this was a lot of fun. The Young Bucks get the win after a double superkick to Angelico followed by a BTE Trigger. This match did help move the story between the Bucks and the Acclaimed along so we shall see where this goes down the road.

Sting Speaks on TNT!

Cody Rhodes comes to the ring with Arn Anderson. Tony Schiavone there to ask Cody about his reaction to the arrival of Sting. Before he can answer, he is interrupted by the Icon himself. Cody and Arn back off and lets Sting talk with Tony. Sting and Tony hug before Schiavone yells his trademark “It’s Sting!” line to a huge pop. Cody steps up to officially welcome Sting to AEW and mentions how he’s been waiting a long time but Sting says that he’s not here for Cody. He says that the only thing that’s sure about Sting is that nothing is for sure except that he’s in AEW for a long time. This was fun. There’s a fine line between nostalgia and pandering but this segment was definitely the former. I’m curious to see what the endgame is with Sting and Cody. I’m intrigued but I genuinely have no desire to see Sting wrestle at this point.

FTR vs. The Varsity Blondes

The former tag champs essentially squash the rising AEW Dark team of Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison. There wasn’t a whole lot here. It was nice to see FTR back on Dynamite. For a relatively new team, the Varsity Blondes definitely have some potential to do well in the tag division in the future. One thing I found interesting is that Pillman got absolutely destroyed with some heavy-handed offense by FTR, eventually getting taken out by a Goodnight Express, giving FTR the win.

Dustin Rhodes vs. 10

Another squash. Dustin easily beats 10 clean as a sheet. The main focus of this match came afterward as Evil Uno and the Dark Order wanted a moment to speak with Dustin. He brings up legacy and the pressure that comes with being a Rhodes. He then attempts to recruit Rhodes into the Dark Order, asking Dustin to join their ranks as…Seven as they leave the ring.

Shaq Attack is Back, Jack!

Tony Schiavone is sitting with Brandi Rhodes and Shaquille O’Neal. Tony puts over Shaq which upsets Brandi. Shaq tries to elaborate on his relationship with Jade Cargill and says that he’s known her for some time and that he’s sorry that Jade hurt Brandi, hoping that Jade and Brandi could do something on Dynamite. O’Neal talks about how he was just messing around when he challenged Cody on social media earlier and that he is a huge fan of the Rhodes family and reiterates that Brandi should face jade at some point. As the meeting was about end, Shaq makes one last joke about Brandi which causes her to angrily dump a glass of water on the NBA legend and call him an a-hole.

May the (Inner) Circle be Unbroken

The entire Inner Circle is in the ring (minus Santana) to discuss the future of the group. MJF walks about how much being in the Inner Circle means to him and how powerful the bonds he has made are. As he goes on, Sammy cuts him off and runs him down. Ortiz admits that MJF and Wardlow are assets and MJF is starting to grow on him (like a fungus). Ortiz tells Sammy to step up and be the better man. Sammy will give MJF one more chance and if MJF messes with him one more time, he’ll quit the group. They shake hands as the group is united…for now. This ends with a pretty funny exchange with Jake Hager and Wardlow as the two big men play off of each other. All in all, this was a fun segment. It went a little long for me but it was still fun.

Lance Archer, Penta El Zero Miedo, and Rey Fenix vs. Eddie Kingston, The Butcher, and The Blade

Man, there was a lot going on in this one. Archer starts off leaping into the ring to start the match. Penta gets slammed through a table by Butcher and is taken to the back for the rest of the match. Archer and Fenix do all they can to keep the match afloat but the numbers game gets the better of them. Butcher and Blade hit Fenix with the powerbomb/neckbreaker for the win. Post-match, Archer grabs Eddie Kingston by the throat but gets saved by Blade. Lance tries to take out Blade but Butcher saves his partner.

Abadon vs. Tesha Price

The was the definition of a squash match. I think the whole thing was barely over one minute long. Abadon wins with the backpack neckbreaker. After the match, Abadon continues to wreck Price until Hikaru Shida makes the save with a kendo stick in hand. Shida sold the fear well and conquered it long enough to hit Abadon. Abadon did an Undertaker style rise up as Shida and Price left the ring.

The Rise of the Invisible Hand

Kenny Omega and Don Callis are in the ring with Tony Schiavone. Callis says that people are comparing what happened last week to the Montreal Screwjob but he says that this time, the stakes were a lot higher. He then brings up Kenny’s appearance on Impact and how this plan was decades in making after bringing up his personal history with Kenny. Omega takes the mic and says that he has been biding his time and that everyone fell for his act. Kenny says that he has many more surprises in store down the road and ends the segment with his trademark “goodbye and good night”. If you saw their segment on Impact, this was almost identical. I really like the duo of Callis and Kenny but I wished this was not just a rehash of what happened in Impact.

Dynamite Diamond Ring Match-MJF vs. Orange Cassidy

The match itself was fine but this thing kept mutating into different things, it was sometimes hard to keep track of what was going on. At some point, this turned into a lumberjack match as the Inner Circle stayed on one side and the Best Friends, Varsity Blondes, Top Flight, and Brandon Cutler were on the other. MJF tried to cheat but got caught by Best Friends. MJF then tried for the Eddie Guerrero spot but OC gives his own spin on the spot, making the ref think that MJF used the bat, which leads to Cassidy getting a near fall with a Beach Break. Cassidy pins MJF with an Orange Punch but Ortiz gets MJF’s foot on the rope. The heels and faces brawl on the outside. After a while, Miro and Kip Sabian get involved. Whilst the ref was distracted, Miro clobbers Cassidy with a clothesline and mocks him as MJF gets the three count and the win. Another brawl ensues. Security tries to stop Miro but they get absolutely destroyed by the Best Man. Miro screams into the camera as the show fades.

#Sting #prowrestling #ChrisJericho #AEWDynamite #AEW #CodyRhodes #KennyOmega