name='verify_a78772d791e94fc7f9666f0dd14249cc'/> Dynamite recap & reactions: Damascus Hardy

Dynamite recap & reactions: Damascus Hardy

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AEW Dynamite (Mar. 25, 2020) emanated from Jacksonville, Florida. In front of an empty venue, the show featured Jon Moxley coming for Jake Hager, the Exalted One ribbing Vince McMahon, Kenny Omega defending the AAA Megacampeonato, and a verbal showdown between Chris Jericho and Matt Hardy.

Get caught up on all the Dynamite details with the excellent live results and play-by-play from Claire Elizabeth.

Damascus Hardy

The closing segment for Dynamite was a talking spot between Chris Jericho and Matt Hardy. Jericho’s plan was to offer Hardy a spot in the Inner Circle. Vanguard 1 came out first. Jericho offered the drone a place in the Inner Circle. Vanguard flew away. That led to the appearance of Hardy. In a cool scene, he teleported to the ring.

I can’t figure out how AEW pulled that off. The background sky is dark, so it wasn’t filmed earlier in the day. Thumbs up for that camera trickery. Also thumbs up to the reactions of Kenny Omega and Cody Rhodes on commentary. I like that they go along with the gimmick. That attitude makes it feel more real.

A lot of words were exchanged between Jericho and Hardy, but it basically boiled down to Hardy explaining his current existence and giving an answer about joining the Inner Circle. Hardy is Team Elite, because he owes the Young Bucks a favor. Hardy then explained that it is actually Damascus who is inhabiting the Hardy vessel. Damascus is over 3,000 years old and practically perfect at creating chaos, violence, and brutality.

Hardy turned down Jericho’s offer to join the Inner Circle, so Jericho hit him. Hardy knocked down Jericho with one punch to sell the power of Damascus. Jericho had magic up his sleeve as well by having Sammy Guevara ambush Hardy. Cody Rhodes and Kenny Omega ran down from commentary to make the save. Hardy controlled the fire effects on the entrance ramp to almost burn Jericho and Guevara as the show closed.

As someone who’s not fully aware of the depths to Matt Hardy’s Broken Universe, this segment was weird to me. Jericho spoke shoot style on Hardy’s career, but Hardy was not actually Hardy. That resulted in a disconnected vibe in the scene. Overall, it did do a good job of explaining Hardy’s current situation. I suppose the success of the segment depends on if the viewer buys into the magic or rolls their eyes at the chicanery.

One line from Jericho that stuck out to me was when he stated as fact that he resurrected the career of Jake Hager and made stars of Sammy Guevara, Santana, and Ortiz. In the battle with the Elite, the Inner Circle’s advantage has been as a cohesive unit. It will be interesting to see if Jericho’s comments ruffle any feathers inside his squad.

And still...

Kenny Omega successfully retained the AAA Megacampeonato against Sammy Guevara. This bout received the main event title fight treatment from Brandi Rhodes as ring announcer. The match went about 25 minutes. Guevara was in control for the most part of the first 20 minutes. In story, it felt like Omega may have been rusty from his hand injury.

There was also a side plot of Guevara flirting with Brandi. Guevara went so far as to sloppily kiss a drawing of Brandi. She obviously did not reciprocate the feelings. Brandi actually slapped Guevara when he got too close.

The action picked up in the final 5 minutes. Guevara hit a splendid springboard cutter then followed with a somersault over the ropes onto Omega on the floor. Guevara went back to the springboard well, but Omega caught him for a powerbomb then a V-Trigger.

Guevara kicked out of the pin. The action continued.

For the finish, Guevara hit a fireman’s carry knee. Omega bounced right up to knee Guevara in the face. A V-Trigger and a Jay Driller followed. Guevara defiantly flashed the bird then ate another V-Trigger and a One Winged Angel to lose.

This was a solid bout. Most of the highlights came from Guevara. I was expecting more action from Omega. It felt like Omega was getting handled much of the time, even though he was never in serious jeopardy of losing. The final five minutes delivered plenty of excitement and showed why Omega is champ.

Side note: During commercial break on AEW Plus with Fite TV, I actually got a chance to listen to Sammy’s theme song. That is a sweet groove. I like how AEW has variation in musical styles.

Second side note: For fans of AAA, it should be mentioned that Cody name-dropped Taurus and Hijo del Vikingo. AEW would be lucky to swoop up those two talented individuals. They would both quickly become stars.

The Exalted One eats first

We were witness to a dining session of the Exalted One Brodie Lee with low ranking Dark Order members, Alex Reynolds and John Silver.

Lee questioned if Reynolds and Silver understood their power in numbers. The Dark Order does what they want when they want. As lions, they pray on the weak. Silver made the mistake of attempting to chow down before Lee was finished eating. Lee stated that he eats first then angrily shooed Silver from the table. Reynolds made the mistake of sneezing. Lee shouted for him to leave as well.

This scene was confusing. I don’t understand why Lee was so crotchety. I guess it was a way to establish him as an asshole, so he won’t be getting any cheers when fans eventually return to the shows. If that was the intention, then it certainly worked for me. The more villainous Lee appears, the easier it will be to get excited for SCU to put him down.

Also of note, this scene seemed to be a rib toward Vince McMahon. Vince is known for eating steak and getting upset at sneezes. Lee’s formal attire even reminded me of how Vince would dress.

When it was time for Lee to debut in the ring for AEW, he pummeled QT Marshall with clubbing blows, suplexes, a swinging slam, and a discus lariat to win. Lee only had one creeper by his side. After the match, that creeper dropped a mask on QT’s chest as an offer to join the Dark Order.

Impressive performance by Lee. QT is no slouch, and Lee made mincemeat out of him. SCU might be able to prevail as a team, but I struggle to see them winning in a singles confrontation against the Exalted One.

Let’s jam through the rest of Dynamite.

No fans. Wrestlers were not in the stands like last week. Instead, there were occasional scenes backstage with talent gambling.

It was not as effective as last week, but it was better than nothing as background noise. There was also a minor kerfuffle of Shawn Spears shoving Billy Gunn. Perhaps that will lead to a match on the next episode of Dark.

Cody Rhodes defeated Jimmy Havoc. Arn Anderson was not present. Cody ended up winning after a super reverse suplex then two Cross Rhodes.

This was my favorite bout of the evening. I enjoyed Jimmy Havoc’s effort with submissions. He was out there to get a big win. Havoc didn’t use hardcore tactics, but he did inflict pain. Throughout the match, Havoc would pull on Cody’s earlobe, poke Cody in the eye, and grab Cody’s tongue. I also liked Cody showing fire when needed. He hit a nice suicide dive, running from backstage for a clothesline to Havoc over the ropes, and turning it up a notch when it was time to finish.

A message for Cody. After Cody’s match, a video played from Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Roberts was sitting outside in front of a bonfire.

Lance Archer is chomping at the bit to get Cody in the ring. Roberts reasoned that AEW was afraid after seeing what Archer was doing in Japan. Roberts asked Cody for one chance. They will get done what they want to get done. Cody responded from commentary. He stated that Archer hasn’t done anything in AEW, so he can’t jump the line for a match with Cody. However, Cody did offer an opportunity for Archer to wrestle on the next Dynamite.

Roberts did his part well by talking big for his client. It adds more mystique to the Archer story. Cody’s reply was odd. One one hand, I get it. He’s probably tired of wrestlers constantly trying to make a name off his back. On the other hand, Cody came across as arrogant in denying the challenge. Perhaps that is part of a strategy laid out by Arn Anderson.

Darby Allin defeated Kip Sabian. Allin started with a weird, artistic video about learning lessons the hard way from the Inner Circle. He then lit a table on fire. As for the match, Penelope Ford was on hand to provide timely assistance for Sabian. Allin overcame in the end with a surprise leg lock package pin.

The finish to this match felt underwhelming in the sense that it came out of nowhere with no heat building to the moment. Allin just had his clock cleaned, then he won all of a sudden with a fancy pin. On the plus side, that maneuver adds a new layer to Allin’s skillset. It shows he’s evolving as a wrestler.

Through two weeks of Dynamite in an empty venue, I would say Allin is the one wrestler who benefits most from the crowd response. His act isn’t the same without the massive fan pops. The experience of watching Allin is effective when he gets beat up and then hits crazy moves for a furious comeback. Those moments didn’t come across as well on this evening with silence in the background.

Jake Hager defeated Chico Adams. Squash. A seated arm triangle submission was the winning move.

Jon Moxley! The champ sauntered out to the ring after Hager’s win. Fight! Moxley quickly hit a Paradigm Shift. Hager quickly rebounded from the impact to grab Moxley’s leg for an ankle lock. Moxley escaped the hold, and Hager exited the scene.

Moxley had a backstage promo declaring that he is 100% cleared for action. Mox is out for blood. When it comes to a head with Hager, Hager will be carried out on a stretcher. Or, Mox will die trying.

Nice surprise appearance from Moxley. That was an unexpected skirmish in a good way. Mox hit his finisher, but Hager’s rapid recovery put doubt in the effectiveness of the Paradigm Shift. It set Moxley’s direction, and this feud would fit good on Dynamite until they get back on track with business as usual. I don’t agree with commentary’s criticism about Hager not staying to fight. Hager is a prize fighter. He should make it worth his while by having Moxley put the belt on the line.

Medical update on Nick Jackson. Vanguard 1 spied on Nick working out in his garage. The health meter registered 61% recovered. Once Nick noticed Vanguard, the drone flew away.

I’m curious how AEW will handle Nick’s health situation the longer Blood & Guts gets postponed. Over time, Nick will get healthy. A healthy Nick should mean he wants in on Blood & Guts. That makes me wonder if Matt Hardy will still be on Team Elite and if there will be any repercussions if Hardy gets the boot.

Cody on commentary. He handled commentary duties alongside Tony Schiavone for the majority of the show. Cody provided an interesting take with personal analysis and classic wrestling references. He did well as a fill-in.

Stud of the Show: Sammy Guevara

Despite a losing effort, Guevara put on a the type of performance that makes you take notice. He took Omega to the limit and even showed his intestinal fortitude by flipping a feisty finger at Omega before going down in defeat.

Guevara is fully fortified in the grapefruit department. It is moments like that which last in my memory.

Dud of the Show: Kenny Omega’s no sell

I understand that no sell moments are part of AEW’s style, but they usually blend in better than this instance. Guevara had just displayed beautiful athleticism, a smooth kick, then a heavy knee strike.

Omega responded by getting up then going right into the closing sequence to win. That flurry of offense from Guevara should have been given more respect.

Grade: B-

This was an average outing for Dynamite. There were three solid matches and two squashes. Only one of those bouts had a story going into the confrontation. I know AEW has roster limitations due to the coronavirus, but I hope they try to build mini-feuds for the matches instead of random matchups. Giving fans a reason to care about a fight makes a big difference. I really enjoyed the touches with Vanguard and teleporting Hardy. The surprise of Moxley was probably my favorite moment.

How do you rate this episode of Dynamite? What was your favorite moment?



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