AEW Dynamite: Punk vs. Moxley
August 24, 2022
Cleveland, OH (Wolstein Center)
Report by: Josh Boutwell
Chris Jericho makes his way to the ring and invites Daniel Garica to the ring, who he calls his “favorite person in the world.” Jericho says that Bryan Danielson “slayed the dragon” and he knows that emotions were just running high after the match and he just wants an apology.
Garcia says that Bryan Danielson was his hero growing up and Jericho knew how much that match meant to him. Garcia says he hung with the best wrestler in the world for 30 minutes and that match is the kind of match he always dreamt of having as a kid. He said that he hopes some kid was watching that match and felt the same way he did as a kid and when Danielson offered a handshake that’s all he cared about and Jericho ruined it.
Jericho says that he’s sorry that Garcia is sorry he feels like that but there will be plenty of more moments like that for him. He says that he’s the best “sports entertainer” in the world and deep down he knows he’s a sports entertainer, not a wrestler. The fans chant “you’re a wrestler” at Garcia but Jericho demands that he call himself a sports entertainer.
Danielson makes his way to the ring and says that Garcia can be whatever he wants to be but he respects him for wrestling Danielson last week. He says he agrees with all the people that Garcia is a wrestler, not a sports entertainer. Jericho demands Garcia say he’s a sports entertainer again but Garcia cuts him off and says that he isn’t making a decision between his mentor and his hero in front of everyone. He tries to leave but Jericho grabs him and Garcia shoves him down.
Danielson laughs at what just happened as Garcia leaves. Danielson says that he’s not a huge fan of “sports entertainment but that was pretty damn entertaining.” Jericho says he’s been around Danielson for 15 years but he’s never seen “the best wrestler in the world” out of him and blows smoke up his own ass about being the true GOAT. He says he’s the last survivor of Stu Hart’s dungeon and says that he is still Lionheart. He says he knows more about wrestling than Danielson ever will. Danielson asks Jericho what he thinks Stu Hart would say if they asked him who the better wrestler was or if they asked Owen Hart who the better wrestler. He asks Jericho if they wrestled a match tonight who he thought would win. Jericho accepts the challenge but only for All Out. Jake Hager then attacks Danielson from behind.
(JOSH’S 2 CENTS: I’m not too keen on the “make me choose between sports entertainer vs. wrestling” stuff as a story arch between Jericho and Garcia. They could just as easily make it simply Danielson and Jericho both trying to get Garcia as their protégé and leave it at that. Also, I’m pretty sure there’s a dozen other better things Danielson could be doing other than facing Jericho. I’m also not overly fond of 15-minute promos to open a show but it’s forgivable since most weeks AEW opens with a match. This one just wasn’t that entertaining.)
Dax Harwood vs. Jay Lethal
Lethal and Harwood mat wrestle to open things up until Lethal rolls out of a Hip Toss from Dax and hits a Basement Dropkick. Lethal and Dax exchange some stiff chops before Dax backdrops Lethal out of the corner. Harwood tosses Lethal into the turnbuckles and then rains down a series of rights until Lethal escapes through his legs and hits a Super Russian Leg Sweep off the middle turnbuckle.
—-COMMERCIAL BREAK—-
Lethal goes for the Flying Elbow but Harwood crotches him on the top and attempts a Superplex only for Lethal to toss him back to the mat. Lethal goes for a Flying Axle Handle but falls right into a shot from Dax. Dax hits a series of Rolling German Suplexes. Lethal tries fighting out of the last Suplex attempt but Harwood catches him and hits it anyway. Harwood goes for another German Suplex but Lethal rolls him up and goes for the Figure Four until Harwood gets to the ropes. Lethal hits Lethal Combination for two as Harwood went for a clothesline.
Lethal hangs Dax’s leg up in the ropes and hits a Dragon Screw Leg Whip knocking Harwood to the floor. Lethal follows him out with a Tope Suicida and then rolls him back in the ring and locks in the Figure Four. Dax gets to the ropes to break the hold only for Lethal to go for it again. Dax reverses it into a Sharpshooter attempt, however. Lethal kicks Dax in the face and takes him down again only for Dax to roll him up for two. Lethal kicks Dax in the leg and goes for the Lethal Injection. Harwood blocks it and hits the Slingshot Liger Bomb! 1…2…NO Lethal kicks out!
Dax goes for the Sharpshooter but Lethal shoves him into the corner and attempts the Dragon Screw again. Dax sits down on him for a nearfall and then rolls Lethal up and puts him in the Sharpshooter. Sonjay gets on the apron but Dax shoves Lethal inot him. They exchange nearfalls on rollups until Dax hits a Springboard Cross Body out of the corner after Lethal kicked out of a pin attempt. Dax gets another nearfall followed by a series of strikes. Lethal counters a uppercut attempt into a Backslide attempt. Dax counters into a rollup but Lethal reverses it and pulls Dax’s tights to get the pin.o
Winner: Lethal via pinfal (rollup)
(JOSH’S 2 CENTS: Excellent match between two great wrestlers. Dax hits it out of the park every single time he gets a chance to shine on his own. ***1/2)
Sonjay Dutt gets on the microphone and says that while they challenged FTR and Wardlow to a trios match at All Out, they never said it would be Singh and Sonjay teaming with Lethal. He says instead it will be two of their very good friends. The Motor City Machine Guns’ entrance video and music then plays! It will be Jay Lethal and Motor City Machine Guns against Wardlow and FTR at All Out.
—-COMMERCIAL BREAK—-
Backstage, Tony Schiavone talks to Thunder Rosa backstage. Rosa is crying as she says that she has to step down as Women’s Champion due to injury. She announces that an interim Women’s Champion named at All Out. She wishes Toni Storm luck but says this won’t stop her and she will come back better and stronger with a bigger chip on her shoulder.
(JOSH’S 2 CENTS: That sucks something serious. Rosa had such a terrific rise to the title and what has been a pretty disappointing title reign due to no fault of her own. Hopefully it’s not as serious as it sounds and we wish her a fast recovery)
Colten Gunn w/Stokely Hathaway & Austin Gunn vs. Billy Gunn w/The Acclaimed
Colten takes his dad down with an Armdrag and taunts him s the fans get on the Ass Boys cases. Billy runs Colten over and he retreats to the floor.
—-COMMERCIAL BREAK—-
Billy beats his son down in the corner after getting frustrated with him. He backs down and thinks twice about it before picking him up. On the outside, Stokely uses Caster’s boom box to hit him from behind. Austin attacks Bowens and Colten hits a low blow followed by the Colt 45 for the pin.
Winner: Colten Gunn via pinfall (Colt 45)
(JOSH’S 2 CENTS: Yeah, that sucked. This whole storyline sucks. The Ass Boys suck. There are so many awesome talent on the AEW roster to being used, do we really need more Gunn Club? Please, stop. *)
The Gunn Club beats Billy down after the match until Swerve in our Glory runs out and chases them off. Swerve in our Glory faces The Acclaimed down before leaving.
Backstage, United Empire and Death Triangle are interviewed by Schiavone. Will Ospreay taunts PAC and says they only have one mission, more gold. PAC says they’ve waited far too long for this opportunity. He says they aren’t just going to kill United Empire, they’ll murder them. He says AEW is Death Triangle territory and United Empire find out the hard way.
—-COMMERCIAL BREAK—-
Dr. Britt Baker DMD w/Rebel & Jamie Hayter vs. KiLynn King
King is a Ohio native and attacked Baker on Dark after Baker taunted her. Baker hits King with a series of elbows to start but when she whips King into the corner, King leaps to the top and hits a Missile Dropkick. King goes for a Full Nelson but Baker counters into a Roaring Elbow. King leaps over a charging Baker and hits a back kick but then eats a Flatliner into the turnbuckles after charging at Baker. Baker pulls King’s arms out of the ring and wraps her around the ring post.
In the ring, Baker puts King in a chin lock and then rolls her up for a nearfall. Baker pie faces King repeatedly until King lays into her with elbow smashes. Baker kicks King’s knee and goes for the Curb Stomp but King moves out of the way and hits a series of Roundhouse Kings and a German Suplex. King hits a Full Nelson Slam for two and goes for a Fireman’s Carry only for Baker to shove her into the corner and hit a Superkick. Baker hits a second Superkick followed by the Curb Stomp. Baker puts King in the Lockjaw and King taps.
Winner: Baker via submission (Lockjaw)
(JOSH’S 2 CENTS: The match was relatively short but they shoved a lot into it. King got in a ton of offense and I really think she has a ton of potential. It was just too short to really be as good as it could have been. **)
Baker mocks Thunder Rosa and says that when she was champion she wrestled her entire title reign with a broken wrist, because that’s what a champion does. Baker says that Storm will finally get a chance to get on a PPV that someone gives a damn about because she’ll finally be in the ring with her. Toni Storm comes out but Hayter attacks her from behind. Hayter and Baker beat Storm down until Hikaru Shida runs out to make the save.
Shida, Baker, Storm and Hayter will face off in a 4-Way for the interim Women’s Title at All Out.
Swerve in Our Glory offers The Acclaimed a title shot at All Out and they accept.
Undisputed AEW World Heavyweight Championship
“The Best in the World” CM Punk (c) vs. “Death Rider” Jon Moxley (c) w/William Regal
Punk and Moxley lockup and stalemate but when the referee tries to separate them in the corner, Moxley blasts Punk and beats him down with a barrage of rights and lefts. He dares Punk to get back up and Punk answers with a slap followed by a series of strikes. As the referee pulls Punk off, Moxley attacks him only to then eat a Roundhouse Kick from Punk. Punk immediately falls down and starts screaming and rolling around in pain grabbing his foot. The referee calls for the doctor but Moxley destroys Punk with a King Kong Lariat. Moxley hits a series of elbows and then puts Punk in an Ankle Lock. Moxley hits two Death Riders and pins Punk to become undisputed World Champion.
Winner & NEW undisputed World Champ: Moxley via pinfall (Death Rider)
(JOSH’S 2 CENTS: This was absolute garbage and a very WWE thing to do. I don’t give two shits if they are trying to sell the drama with Punk or if he’s going to leave now officially. This was trash and AEW just burned through a ton of good will with this. You don’t push a “dream match” and then give us this garbage. The only saving grace is that no one paid $50 for this pile of dog shit. If I wanted to see trash like this, I’d tune in Mondays. -**)
Christian Cage cuts a promo backstage and says that he was just trying to motivate Jungle Boy so he becomes the best version of himself. He says that Jungle Boy isn’t smart enough to figure that out and he’ll never be as smart as Christian. Christian accepts Jungle Boy’s challenge for All Out.
Ricky Starks comes out and says he has veterans in the back telling him that this is show business, not friends business. He said that he thought he and Hobbs was the exception because Hobbs was a friend he can trust. He said that when he broke his neck, Hobbs checked on him every single day. He says that while Hobbs wanted to see him do good, he didn’t want to see him do better than Hobbs. Starks says that when Hobbs was standing around in a bedazzled shirt being Baker’s security guard he gave Hobbs a seat at his table. He said that he made sure if he had the spotlight, it was big enough for both of them.
Starks says he should have known it would happen but Hobbs went after his neck and he knew how close he was to losing his career with his neck, so it’s more than personal. He says he considered him a friend but now he considers him a snake and where’s from, they cut the heads of snakes. Starks tells Hobbs to bring his “five dollar ass” to Chicago and fight him at All Out.
(JOSH’S 2 CENTS: Excellent promo from Starks, who is probably one of the top two or three young guys in AEW and already one of the best promos in wrestling.)
—-COMMERCIAL BREAK—-
In the back, Moxley taunts CM Punk, “best in the world my ass.” Moxley says that the same people that are surprised right now are the same people that wanted to write him off the minute Punk came back. Moxley says the answer to every problem has always been Jon Moxley and there is no one that can do what he does the way he does it. He says he isn’t just some guy, he’s THE guy in wrestling. He says there are no limitations to him or what he can do. Moxley says people always ask “when is my time” but he’s telling us his time is right now.
(JOSH’S 2 CENTS: Another excellent promo from Moxley. He was as passionate as you’d want there.)
—-COMMERCIAL BREAK—-
Main Event
AEW World Trios Title Tournament Quarterfinals
Death Triangle (PAC, Rey Fenix & Penta el Cero M) vs. United Empire (Will Ospreay, Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher)
Fenix and Ospreay start the match off with some Ospreay-Ricochet level awesomeness. All six guys get in the ring and square off. Fenix hits a Back Handspring Double Cutter on Aussie Open and then PAC and Penta send Ospreay flying with a backdrop. Death Triangle hit stereo dives onto United Empire on the floor! Penta sends Fenix into Ospreay with an Assisted Splash for two. PAC tags in and lights Ospreay up with chops and tags Penta in. Death Triangle work Ospreay over in the corner while utilizing quick tags.
—-COMMERCIAL BREAK—
During the break, Fenix twisted Ospreay up like a pretzel with a number of submissions before turning an Armbar into a rollup for a nearfall. Davis trips Fenix on the floor and Fletcher dives off the apron with a Ghetto Stomp onto Fenix’s back. Ospreay then hits a Sky Twister Press onto PAC and Penta on the floor! Aussie Open sends Ospreay into Fenix with the Rocket Launcher for two.
United Empire works Fenix over in their corner now. Aussie Open sandwich Fenix with a series of strikes until Fenix ducks the last attempt and fights them off with his own chops. He then shows why he is oen of the most amazing wrestlers on the planet with a Slingshot Double Lucha Armdrag off the ropes. Penta gets the hot tag and hits a Diving Cross Body on Aussie Open followed by Slingblades for both. He hits a Rolling Crucifix Bomb on Fletcher. He goes for the Fear Factor on Davis but he counters into a Ripcord Elbow. Penta answers with a Superkick but eats a Handspring Corkscrew Enziguri from Ospreay. Aussie Open hits a series of kicks and then a Diving DDT/Fireman’s Carry combo off the top for two!
—-COMMERCIAL BREAK—
Ospreay starts ripping Penta’s mask during the break. Penta kicks Ospreay away and then Superkicks him in the head after Ospready tried a headstand in the corner. PAC gets the hot tag and hits a Snap German on Ospreay after knocking Aussie Open off the apron. PAC goes for the Deadlift German but Ospreay holds on to the ropes only for Fenix to run the ropes and Punt Kick Ospreay’s head into the third row allowing PAC to hit the German for a nearfall.
Aussie Open pulls PAC out and Lucha Brothers pull Ospreay out. The two teams start fighting in the ring and exchange Superkicks. PAC and Ospreay come in and hit Double Poison Ranas on the other teams at the same time! PAC and Ospreay trade strikes as the crowd explodes. PAC hits another Snap German but Ospreay gets back up and hits the OsCutter! Both men are down now, though. Ospreay mounts PAC in the corner but PAC crotches him and hits a Super Brainbustaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!
—-COMMERCIAL BREAK—-
During the break, Fletcher hits a Brainbuster on Fenix on the floor. Ospreay attempts a Super Frankensteiner on PAC but he shoves Ospreay off and sets up for the Black Arrow. Ospreay knocks PAC’s legs out from under him and goes for a Super Storm Breaker only for Fenix to cut him off. Fenix hits a Springboard Super Rana but Ospreay lands on his damn feet only to eat a Rolling Cutter from Fenix! Penta hits a Step-Up Somersault Plancha onto Davis on the floor and Fenix hits the Tornillo onto Fletcher! PAC goes for Black Arrow but Ospreay gets his knees up! 1…2…NO PAC kicks out! Ospreay goes for Storm Breaker but PAC counters into a Rana in midair! 1…2…NO PAC kicsk out!
Fenix tags in and dives into an elbow form Davis! Penta and Fletcher kick each other but then Penta hits the Mexican Destroyer on Fletcher off the back of Davis! PAC attempts a Moonsault out of the corner but Ospreay catches him only to eat a Tornado DDT from PAC! PAC goes to the top again but Fletcher pulls Ospreay out, so PAC hits an insane Golden Moonsault onto United Empire off the ring post! Ospreay notices Kip Sabian at ringside wearing a box on his head, which is something he’s been doing for months along with following PAC around. He pulls the box off his head but it’s some guy with his mouth taped. Sabian attacks PAC from behind and hits a Brainbuster on the floor!
In the ring, the referee and the doctor is checking on Fenix who is injured. Davis levels Fenix with strikes and then United Empire hit a triple strikes on him and an Assisted OsCutter for the pin.
Winners: United Empire via pinfall (Assisted OsCutter)
(JOSH’S 2 CENTS: That was a Match of the Year candidate all the way up until the finish. First, it made sense the way they did it with the doctor and referee checking on Fenix in the ring – who was selling an injury – but they made the referee look like a moron by never even panning the camera over there to show what he was doing. So, it looked like he was just standing there as Sabian interfered. The Sabian interference was just unimaginably stupid. They have done a piss poor job of really putting over Sabian in the box and him following PAC around other than very, very quick 10-second clips the past month or so. I’m sure there was plenty of people that had no idea what that was about. Death Triangle doing the job there was also terrible. The Trios Titles are made for a team like Death Triangle and at the very least the finals should have been The Elite vs. Death Triangle. Regardless, the match was fantastic and all six guys are just flat out amazing. Hopefully we get to see Fenix vs. Ospreay down the line. ****1/2)
The Elite walks out and stares down United Empire.