All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite: Dynamite 6/14 and Rampage 6/16

June 14, 2023 4:51 PM - Season 4, Episode 37

"Preparing for a collision": With only days left before the premiere of AEW Collision, the roster refuses to rest, as tonight there will be two championship defenses, two multi-man matches with a lot of promise, and one (hopeful) humbling of MJF in preparation for Forbidden Door.

The announced card for tonight:

AEW World Title Eliminator Match: MJF (c) vs. Adam Cole

I had to look it up, but Cole has never actually held any title in AEW. The last belt he had was the pre-pandemic NXT Championship. If Cole wins, can the fans be convinced to believe he has a chance where others have failed? If Cole loses, is MJF even going to show up at Forbidden Door? Maybe, if one of the NJPW roster shows up to humiliate him or interfere in this match.

AEW TNT Championship Match: Wardlow (c) vs. Jake Hager

Your hoss fight of the night. Wardlow and Hager found themselves on opposite sides of the Pinnacle vs. Inner Circle faction feud a couple of years ago. Then, Wardlow was a heel while Hager was the fan-favorite. This marks the first time that they will have those roles reversed.

Swerve Strickland, Brian Cage and Gates of Agony vs. Orange Cassidy, Keith Lee, Darby Allin and Sting

The first time in months that Cassidy hasn't opened the show with a title defense. It's possible Swerve and Keith Lee will never get the 1-on-1 feud blow-off they deserve, but this match could mean him starting some kind of rivalry with Brian Cage, which I picture like when I was a kid I smashed two of my He-Man action figures together repeatedly.

AEW Women's Championship: Toni Storm (c) vs. Skye Blue

I don't think the rookie has a chance, but if it means she becomes a regular new player in this Outcasts vs. AEW Originals feud, I approve.

The "Hung Bucks" (Hangman Page and the Young Bucks) vs. Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta (Blackpool Combat Club)

This has got to be building to another Blood & Guts match down the line, but Kenny had said he'd be phoning some friends from out of town... and hey! Maki Itoh is back!

posted by The Pluto Gangsta (8 comments total)

MJF seemed to get his lip busted open hard way on a superkick from Cole, these men directing a lot of offense at each other's faces. And then MJF gets his receipt with a picture-perfect elbow drop to an outside table.

And then ref Bryce Remsburg fricking SLAYS me by inverting MJF's sneaky-Eddie-Guerrero-cheating spot because he's still too unconscious to notice! And then the 30-minute time limit elapses! And Max just goes home! I LOVE MELODRAMA.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 5:36 PM on June 14, 2023

Sammy Guevara: I'm gonna be a dad!
Darby Allin: Yeah, but are you gonna turn face? Because only The Miz was able to turn fatherhood into a heel run.
Chris Jericho: Stop talking to my son, you weird skateboard kid!
Darby: Yeah, well my dad can beat you up!
enter STIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

Nothing says "AEW celebrates Pride" like Jericho coming out in big sparkly heel boots and he and Sting wave their bats in each other's face and get into a bat-measuring contest.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:00 PM on June 14, 2023

Brian Cage coming out in surfer-Sting face-paint just to be the one to take the pin from Sting is a perfect moment in a car-crash match. There may have been some weirdness in the spots, but they got a lot done in (checks watch)... six and a half minutes!?
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:09 PM on June 14, 2023

Arn Anderson must have been moving at rocket-speed to go from defending Wardlow alongside his son to being captured by Christian and Luchasaurus with enough time to bleed that much blood??

Also, you weren't hallucinating, there was a big "NO" briefly superimposed on the screen. Between that and the Titantron losing Christian's audio, it's been a real "polish up your resumes" day for the production monkeys.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:25 PM on June 14, 2023

OK, now Sanada has issued an open challenge for Forbidden Door, and TANAHASHI CHALLENGED MJF.

I know the odds of him winning are low, but you have to believe Tony Khan's a big enough mark that he would want Tanahashi in the AEW Championships's lineage, right? Am I crazy or is this within the realm of possibility?
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:32 PM on June 14, 2023

Skye Blue does lose, but between this and her ROH match against Athena she is cooking pretty hard. Willow runs down to make the post-match save and prove that she and Skye are now in the "wears Chuck Taylors to the ring" club.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:39 PM on June 14, 2023

This main event got SO MUCH DONE. The path to the Elite's victory over BCC, as usual, was to distract Claudio and then beat the hell out of Wheeler Yuta.

Then Eddie Kingston shows up!
Then Konosuke Takeshita!
Then Kenny!
Then WIll Ospreay!

This was a great episode, started a lot of plates spinning, and I hope it sells the hell out of those Forbidden Door tickets.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 7:14 PM on June 14, 2023

Nothing says "AEW celebrates Pride" like Jericho coming out in big sparkly heel boots and he and Sting wave their bats in each other's face and get into a bat-measuring contest.

Surely AEW’s concession to Pride is putting their two biggest butch twinks together in the form of JungleHook.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 4:04 PM on June 15, 2023 [1 favorite]