All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite: April 17, 2024

April 17, 2024 4:38 PM - Season 5, Episode 29

Hail the conquering hero, as Jon Moxley returns to AEW having been crowned new IWGP World Heavyweight Champion after defeating Naito at NJPW Windy City Riot. Tonight he gets to watch his Blackpool Combat Club teammate Claudio fight Will Ospreay, just days before his other BCC mate Bryan Danielson will do the same at the Dynasty PPV. Some fiery promos are also likely as Mercedes Moné, Samoa Joe and Swerve Strickland will all "address the fans." Oh, and at least four other matches too!

The announced card for tonight:

Jon Moxley returns as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion

Taz brokers a meeting with Chris Jericho and Hook

"Brokers a meeting" is the exact phrase AEW's promotional materials use, as if Taz is getting a percentage. Rumor has it that Jericho has gotten a trademark for "The Learning Tree", a phrase he kept spouting last week, so expect that to be the name of his next faction of youngsters.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Mariah May

We’ll hear from Swerve Strickland, Mercedes Moné, and AEW World Champion Samoa Joe

Trios Match: The Elite (The Young Bucks + Kazuchika Okada) vs. PAC, Daniel Garcia, and Penta El Zero Miedo

Mixed Tag Match: Adam Copeland and Willow Nightingale vs. Brody King and Julia Hart

Not my favorite stip, but if we can just get a few seconds of Willow trading elbows with Brody...

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Will Ospreay

posted by The Pluto Gangsta (5 comments total)

So the mixed tag match was really Copeland and King pounding on each other for a few minutes, aside from the glorious segments where Willow full-on delivers a crossbody and cannonball. I am becoming concerned that Julia Hart has an injury that everyone's covering for, as her matches have been short on grappling a long on theatricals.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 5:35 PM on April 17

The Young Bucks as heels are always the funniest, here they interrupt the video package for their FTR match at Dynasty and bully poor Tony Khan at a mock-up of the production table. Later in the match Matthew takes a live mic and keeps commentating while in the ring, up to and including when Daniel Garcia -- who comes off great in this match -- gives him a backdrop suplex. The crowd came alive for PAC and Okada to be face to face, but so far The Rainmaker -- both the man and the finishing move -- remain undefeated in AEW.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:04 PM on April 17

The Hook/Jericho confrontation goes as expected, with Jericho aghast that someone else doesn't want to breath The Rarefied Air of Jericho (tm) and actually giving Taz a shove -- taking a bump in 2024!

It's nice to see that "Jericho drags younger talent into the mid-card vortex" is actual text, instead of unintended subtext, although all of this would have been better if we haven't already seen Hook dump Jericho on his head a dozen times.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:12 PM on April 17

Trent compounds his evil ways by preventing anyone from saving Orange Cassidy from a post-match castigo after his victory over Shane Taylor, but my Discord friends nailed it when they speculated that he should get Chuckie to do a heel turn and call themselves either "Worst Friends" or "Best Fiends".
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:48 PM on April 17

Ospreay becomes the first (?) to wriggle his way out of Claudio's Giant Swing and score the win, but is unwilling to take part in the brawl that follows. Will he walk away from the Don Callis Family to broad approval, or will he get drummed out when he loses to Danielson (please God)
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 7:02 PM on April 17