AEW Dynamite Review — 10.26.2022 — No Longer On Retainer
Riho vs Jamie Hayter, Swerve In Our Glory vs FTR, + Jon Moxley Defends Against Penta El Zero Miedo
--
Following yet another strong episode last week, a special Title Tuesday edition of AEW Dynamite (thanks to opening night of the NBA), Dynamite would be back on its regular night this week for All Elite Wrestling. With a fairly strong card featuring FTR vs Swerve In Our Glory, a promised MJF promo, Riho vs Jamie Hayter, Chris Jericho & Daniel Garcia vs Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta, Sammy Guevara vs Bryan Danielson, and Jon Moxley defending the AEW World Championship against Penta El Zero Miedo, could AEW continue their hot streak? We’ll talk all about it during this review!
So sit back, and enjoy this review of AEW Dynamite from October 26th, 2022! SPOILERS FOR THIS EPISODE OF AEW DYNAMITE AHEAD, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
ROH World Champion Chris Jericho & ROH Pure Champion Daniel Garcia vs Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta
Kicking things off on Dynamite this week, one of AEW’s longest running feuds, the Blackpool Combat Club vs the Jericho Appreciation Society, would once again be front and center as the show would open with some hot tag-team action. Following Garcia realigning with his mentor and the ROH World Champion, Chris Jericho, the two men would face off against the BCC’s Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli, the who Garcia and Jericho both won their respective championships from.
Despite not seeing much of Castagnoli and Yuta as a tag-team, the two would deliver some seriously high-quality work together. Having teased a team-up after ROH’s Death Before Dishonor this past July, it was only a matter of time until they finally got to it. Late into the match, following a huge diva from Wheeler, Claudio would manage to deliver a combination Airplane Spin/Giant Swing to Jericho and Garcia before going on an offensive tear at ringside. Finishing things with a huge diving uppercut and the Neutralizer, Claudio would pick up a surprising, clean win over Chris Jericho!
Following the match, Claudio, Yuta, and Bryan Danielson would get into a heated argument backstage, with Castagnoli trying to be the voice of reason.
My Thoughts:
This was a very hot opener, that I admittedly was not totally focused on as I was finishing dinner. Sorry! From what I caught post-commercial break, Yuta and Castagnoli showed some great shine as a tag-team unit. Back at Death Before Dishonor, a match between them and FTR was teased, so could we be seeing that down the line? I… don’t know? Claudio pinned Jericho, clean, something of a rarity right now. This seemed like a set-up to get Castagnoli vs Jericho II for the ROH World Championship, and possibly another ROH Pure Championship Match between Daniel Garcia and Wheeler Yuta.
A MYSTERIOUS VIGNETTE WOULD PLAY WITH VOICEOVER FROM THE ELITE, FEATURING IMAGES OF THEM FADING AWAY. INTRIGUING!
After commercial break, a backstage segment with the JAS would take place, featuring some horrible audio issues. Chris Jericho lays down an open challenge for next week, that any former Ring Of Honor, World, Pure, Tag, or Women’s Champion to face him.
Swerve In Our Glory vs FTR — AEW World Tag Team Championship Number One Contender’s Match
Finally, after several months, FTR would be brought back into AEW World Tag Team title contention, as last week, the duo would come face to face with Swerve In Our Glory. The two teams would lay down the challenge against one another for a Number One Contender’s Match for The Acclaimed’s belts, and so this match was born. With Swerve in the midst of a slow-burn heel turn, FTR were obviously going to be heavy fan favorites heading into this match, though I did not expect them to come out on top. The target has been set on FTR, across promotions, with them heading to Japan to defend the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Titles in November, and several teams including The Gunn Club and The Kingdom seemingly setting their sights on the ROH World Tag Team Championship.
As for this week’s match, Keith Lee would have a strong showing in the first half, dominating FTR and even managing to leapfrog both men at the same time for an impressive display of athleticism. Following the break, Dax would take it to the big man with a series of chops before getting a nearfall on Sneaky Swerve. Dropping Swerve with a tight German Suplex, FTR would break out the double-team moves, scoring another close fall with a powerbomb/snap-dragon suplex combo.
With Cash Wheeler taking control via uppercuts, Strickland would fire back with his own before getting a tag to Keith Lee. Nailing a forearm/enzuigiri combo, Swerve In Our Glory would take control again, getting a massive nearfall with their assisted Powerbomb move. A great series of counters between Swerve and Harwood would come out late in the game, with Dax countering the Swerve Stomp into a Whiplash Powerbomb, which Strickland then turned into a roll-up, which Dax then turned back into the Whiplash Powerbomb before getting taken out by Lee! The big man would get his own big close call following a hard headbutt to Cash Wheeler, before the two would go up top. In a crazy scene, Dax Harwood would superplex Keith Lee, with Wheeler coming off the top rope with a splash for another big nearfall. Swerve would take out Wheeler to prevent the Big Rig… FTR would eventually succeed in hitting the move, but Strickland would break up the pin at the last minute!
A roll-up from Dax on Keith Lee would fail, though thanks to the Gunn’s distracting the referee, Swerve would nail a low blow allowing Keith to get the win for his team! Swerve In Our Glory vs FTR III is set for the AEW World Tag Team Championship!
My Thoughts:
Man, this was off the charts! When Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland began tagging in AEW, I remember not being all that excited as I wanted to see them both doing singles stuff. Since then, the two have come into their own as one of the best tag teams in the world today. The guys just don’t miss, and when paired with a team like FTR, these four just went nuts for a phenomenal tag-team match. There will surely be those upset that FTR did not come up with the win here, but it made all the sense in the world. Austin and Colten Gunn have been targeting FTR for weeks, and Keith/Swerve’s dynamic continues to build to them both going heel or a genuine split between the two men. We now get a huge rubber match between The Acclaimed and Swerve In Our Glory as well, presumably at Full Gear in a few weeks, which should be great based off their first two clashes. This was a certifiably awesome match, and I can’t wait for the third round between The Acclaimed & SIOG.
Renee Paquette would be backstage with Saraya, with the two gushing over one another. Britt Baker would roll into the scene to cause chaos as Renee would play peacekeeper suggesting a sit-down between the two ladies and herself, presumably.
MJF Gets Interviewed By Renee Paquette
Max would kick off his interview by asking if there are any Devil Worshippers in the house (there were), before calling Renee something in regard to a woman that “the poors want to lay”. MJF would proceed to impersonate Moxley, having his mannerisms down pretty well too! Max would get a mix of boos and support chants after telling Renee to shut her mouth. One thing that really pissed him off last week, was when William Regal suggested that MJF couldn’t beat Moxley without his Dynamite Diamond Ring. He would then promise to not use it at Full Gear, because he doesn’t need it. All he needs is a grudge, and he has plenty of them. Come November 19, he ain’t fighting Moxley, Regal, or Penta, he is fighting every single scumbag that told him he wasn’t good enough. He will take the heavy chip off his shoulder and shove it down their throats when he becomes our new AEW World Champion. Stokely Hathaway would interrupt Max, teasing that The Firm would get involved in their match with a wink wink, before getting the mic slapped out of his hand.
Max berates Big Stoke, saying that Moxley needs to be 100% and that if Stokely or The Firm touches Moxley, they will be fired. To end the segment, MJF leads the crowd in his catchphrase.
My Thoughts:
I really don’t know what the goal of The Firm is, though I am starting to think we are heading towards a swerve at Full Gear. MJF and Stokely are at odds currently, but it seems within reason that the man who is literally calling himself The Devil and has been proven to not be trustworthy, could be lying to us. I suspect MJF wins the belt from Moxley, but that there are shenanigans from The Firm, with Max encouraging it rather than actually firing them as was suggested here. Anyways, love that Renee is all over AEW shows now. She’s great, and seeing her and MJF interact here was a ton of fun! I am more intrigued now about MJF/Stokely/The Firm than before, so that’s a plus.
The Kingdom speak! Matt Taven trashes WardJoe’s tag-team name and calls them Melvins. Taven is a decorated ROH Champion and he is going to be the next TNT Champion. Wardlow says that none of Taven’s accolades matter. This Friday, Wardlow will win against Matt Taven.
Bryan Danielson vs Sammy Guevara
Following a very surprising outcome during AEW’s third anniversary show, in which Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara would defeat Bryan Danielson and Daniel Garcia, Danielson would face off against Guevara in a big-time singles match here. Sammy would get control early on, scoring a massive Springboard Cutter and managing to outmaneuver Bryan through flips and athleticism. Danielson would cut this off by locking in the Romero Special. Before picture-in-picture, Sammy would nail a huge springboard moonsault to the floor in order to take out Bryan.
Back from break, Guevara would maintain control, lighting up Danielson with the Buzzsaw kicks, only firing Bryan up to the point that he would deliver a massive palm strike to the draw before lighting up Sammy with chops and kicks in the corner! A fast running elbow strike would take Sammy down again as Bryan would fire off an uppercut before sending Guevara over the top to the floor, nailing a crazy suicide dive into the barricade. Back in the ring, Danielson would come off the top with a diving Shotgun Dropkick though Sammy would take Bryan down with a Standing Spanish Fly! Spinebuster from Sammy, with repeated attempted shooting standing star presses and moonsaults before getting caught in the Lebel Lock for a great sequence, as Sammy would manage to get his legs to the rope. Bryan would connect with a Busaiku Knee and hard stomps to the face, with the match being called off due to ref stoppage for a great finish!
My Thoughts:
Despite struggling most of 2022, for several reasons, Sammy Guevara would finally have a huge singles match once again, this time paired off against Bryan Danielson, and would deliver massively. While many will praise Danielson’s work here, Sammy delivered in spades. This was a great time with some genuinely solid nearfalls and a just a great showing for an angered, enraged, and fired up Bryan Danielson. You love to see it. Great stuff, would recommend checking this out.
Rey Fenix would be interviewed backstage, with it being suggested that he should go for the All-Atlantic Championship. Christian Cage and Luchasaurus would arrive to shut that down before the champion of the Atlantic, Orange Cassidy would cut in. Following up on the fantastic online segment ahead of Rampage last week that saw Cassidy inserting himself into Rush vs 10, another random triple threat for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship would be made; Orange Cassidy vs Rey Fenix vs Luchasaurus!
Riho vs Jamie Hayter
Following her shocking return on AEW Dynamite last week, Riho would face off against the rising star in the AEW Women’s Division, Jamie Hayter! Despite Britt tripping up Riho on the ropes early on, the Joshi star would manage to nail her high-flying crossbody to the floor to Hayter for a good reaction before the powerhouse would just slam Riho into the apron, then the barricade, before slamming her back onto the apron. Back in the ring, Hayter would connect with a series of twisting snap suplexes that looked brutal in a great way to dominate the smaller lady.
Back from commercial break, Riho would manage to start fighting back with a series of suplexes, failing to keep Jamie down. Another crossbody from Riho would see Hayter roll through, dropping her opponent with a brainbuster for a two count. Britt Baker would be shown at ringside to be looking on in disappointment as Jamie would get caught in another suplex. Avalanche hurricanrana from Riho sends Hayter across the ring, opening the window for her before Britt would grab the boot again. Hayter looked for a powerbomb, but Riho countered into her own Code Red for a nearfall! Going up top, Riho would fail to connect with her diving double stomp as Hayter would level her with the backbreaker, before looking for the short-armed lariat. Dragon Suplex from Riho, with her rolling up Jamie for a two count. On her third attempt, Hayter would successfully connect with the Short-Armed Lariat! Jamie Hayter wins, moving her record against Riho in AEW to 1–1!
Post-Match, AEW Interim Women’s Champion Toni Storm would arrive on the stage, holding up the title to send a message to Jamie Hayter!
My Thoughts:
This was a rough match, both in its placement on the card and the hard-hitting action between Riho and Hayter. It’s been some time since Riho has wrestled in AEW (May 2022), and there did appear to be some rust there, but she remains one of the staples of the AEW Women’s Division in my eyes. Hayter is the future, alongside current AEW Interim Women’s Champion, Toni Storm. I certainly expected Riho to win here and face Toni next week or at Full Gear, but I was… wrong! Hayter won decisively and now looks to challenge Toni for the Interim Championship. Should be interesting to see how it plays out, but I do not expect Hayter to win.
Eddie Kingston would be interviewed by Renee Paquette, as he forces a fake smile on his face before bringing up Moxley. He says it’s gonna be a hard match for Moxley, but he thinks he’ll beat him. Kingston looks absolutely unhinged. Curious about where this is headed.
Darby Allin appears, saying that Sting hasn’t been with him for a bit and explains that Darby told Sting he wants to prove himself alone against Jay Lethal in order to get back to his old self. Darby says that Lethal needs to bring his “old friend” to Dynamite next week. Lethal says that he is in for a rude awakening next week. Wonder who it’s gonna be!
Jon Moxley vs Penta El Zero Miedo — AEW World Championship
Following AEW Rampage last Friday, a surprise AEW World Championship Match would be made between Penta El Zero Miedo, one half of the AEW World Trios Champions, and Jon Moxley, the current AEW World Champion. Penta would take control in the first half of the match, gaining complete control following a plancha to the floor and just using the environment at ringside to beat down the World Champion. Slamming Moxley into the steel steps, chopping him against the ring post, Penta would try his best to keep his dominance, though Moxley would cut it off after dodging a chop against the post.
Back in the ring, Penta would take back control again with a kick to Moxley’s arm against the ropes before eating a boot to the face and a massive overhead belly-to-belly suplex into the corner! A big nearfall would score for Moxley following a Piledriver to Penta before transitioning to the Hammer and Anvil Elbows, then going for the Bulldog Choke. The luchador would escape, looking for the armbreaker, but Moxley would get out of it before getting caught with the armbreaker for a big reaction and a two count!
Penta would then look for a Canadian Destroyer off the apron, though Moxley would escape, dropping his opponent with a DDT on the steel steps! King Kong Lariat would land, with no injury this week, as Mox would then carry Penta to the top rope, laying into his head with clubbing blows. Escaping and cutting his legs out from underneath him, Penta would come off the top with the Diving Foot Stomp before dropping Mox with the Fear Factor for one of the closest nearfalls of the year! Coming off the ropes with a springboard, Penta would get caught with the Paradigm Shift and then the Death Rider for added measure. Jon Moxley wins and retains!
After the match, W. Morrissey would level Moxley with a boot as The Firm would all hit the ring, laying out Jon Moxley. Stokely Hathaway would make his way to the ring to join his faction, all of them looking fired up. Security would be out next, as The Firm would clear the ring. Backstage, the Blackpool Combat Club would be shown to be locked in their locker room as Moxley would attempt to fight off the group, but the numbers advantage would keep him down. MJF would make his way to a very strong babyface reaction, rushing to the ring to pull off The Firm before firing Stokely. Ethan Page would level MJF as The Gunns, Lee Moriarty, and Morrissey would all take it to MJF in a 5-on-1 beatdown! Ethan Page would send MJF flying with a huge Ego’s Edge as Morrissey would take MJF to the ringside area, chokeslamming Max through a table to end the show as Stokely Hathaway’s Firm stands tall!
My Thoughts:
Okay, so I was wrong! Instead of going back and changing what I said earlier in this review, I’ll leave it as is to showcase how my questions about The Firm would be answered by the end of the night. Moxley and Penta would have a hell of a main event as well, though the result was never in question. In the future, should Penta be built up as a stronger singles star, I would love to see the man get another serious shot at the top prize in AEW, but for now, I’ll settle for this. The post-match stuff was incredibly intriguing, as I admittedly thought we were headed for a swerve. And yet, here we are. The Firm still needs to be established, as in character-wise, but this was a great effort to make them look as legit as possible, not only taking out Moxley, but also MJF in the main event of Dynamite. I still am assuming Max beats Moxley at Full Gear, but I am curious as to what the direction is after that show. Does MJF align with FTR, Spears, Wardlow & Joe? Does he align with the Blackpool Combat Club? Does he stay solo? Does he even win the belt? There are a lot of questions, and they are good ones to have as it makes the story and upcoming title match a lot more compelling in my eyes.
Overall Thoughts:
Looking at tonight’s show, I think AEW feels as if they are once again hitting their stride. After delivering some less-than-great shows a in September, the company has been on a very hot streak in terms of their quality since the Third Anniversary Show in Washington DC. Tonight featured some amazing in-ring action with the main event, as well as Guevara vs Danielson and Swerve In Our Glory vs FTR, while also continuing to build a number of big stories heading into Full Gear. The card remains a mystery as we are three weeks out, aside from the main event, though Hayter vs Storm, Nyla vs Jade, and SIOG vs The Acclaimed seem to be more than likely. With the impending return of The Elite, one has to assume they will be returning in-time for or directly after the PPV as well, though that still leaves a lot to be figured out.
Tonight’s episode was a very strong one for AEW that featured great in-ring action and some strong storyline development. I myself didn’t have any major gripes around the show, which is why it’s scoring so high for me. However, something did feel like it was missing, keeping it from reaching the coveted 10 out of 10 rating. Still, this was one of the company’s best shows of the second half of 2022 and the road to Full Gear has been a strong one in recent weeks.
AEW Dynamite, October 26, 2022 Overall Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros:
- Swerve In Our Glory vs FTR
- Sammy Guevara vs Bryan Danielson
- Teasing the return of The Elite
- MJF/Renee Paquette Segment
- Renee Paquette being used more
- Jamie Hayter vs Riho
- Orange Cassidy’s Reign as All Atlantic Champion
- Jon Moxley vs Penta El Zero Miedo
- The Firm’s Attack on MJF and Jon Moxley
Cons:
- Lack of a follow-up on Jade & Nyla’s segment from AEW Rampage
- No acknowledgement of Willow Nightingale being signed this past Friday
Yes, those feel like nitpicks, but I really didn’t have any major issues with tonight’s show. It was great and you should absolutely check out the highlighted matches.
Upcoming AEW Match Cards:
AEW Rampage — October 28, 2022:
- Tay Melo vs Madison Rayne
- 2.0 vs Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta
- Matt Taven vs Wardlow — TNT Championship
AEW Dynamite — November 2, 2022:
- Darby Allin vs Jay Lethal
- Daddy Ass’ Birthday Bash
- Renee Paqutte, Saraya, & Britt Baker sit-down
- Orange Cassidy vs Luchasaurus vs Rey Fenix — AEW All-Atlantic Championship
- Chris Jericho’s Open Challenge (any former ROH Champion) — ROH World Championship
AEW Full Gear — November 19, 2022:
- Jon Moxley vs MJF — AEW World Championship
For those that enjoyed this piece and want a bit more from me… please consider following me for more in the future! On top of the regular AEW weekly coverage, I am also doing a ton of Halloween/Horror content so far this Fall, there are going to be lots to talk about with a number of major film releases including The Fabelmans, The Menu, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Avatar: The Way Of Water, so be sure to subscribe for more!
If you want to stay connected to me outside of Medium, you can follow me on Twitter where I talk about Movies, Comics, Wrestling, and Pop Culture as a whole! My Letterboxd is also linked below, for those that want to see what else I am watching when not reviewing movies on here.
- Twitter — https://twitter.com/NVProfoundFilm
- Letterboxd — https://letterboxd.com/NVPFilm/
- I’m also part of a Pro-Wrestling Podcast, The Deep Six Wrestling Podcast, so if that is something you share the interest in with me, check out our links here — https://linktr.ee/deepsixwrestlingpod
If you made it to the end and want to check out another one of my articles, check out my profile and consider following me on Medium, or check out my review of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery!
