AEW Dynamite recap & reactions (Sep. 7, 2022): Titles vacated, new champs crowned

AEW Dynamite (Sep. 7, 2022) emanated from Keybank Center in Buffalo, NY. The All Out fallout show featured two titles vacated and two new champions crowned.

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

World title and trios title vacated

There was a black cloud hanging over AEW since a locker room melee involving CM Punk, the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and others. That was real life and had real life consequences. Rumors were abound about suspensions and stripped championships. It was the question with the most intrigue entering the show.

Tony Khan delivered answers as far as the television product was concerned. He opened the broadcast with an announcement that CM Punk and the Elite vacated the AEW World Championship and AEW World Trios Championship accordingly.

Khan then announced that the Best Friends would wrestle Death Triangle to crown new trios champions. A tournament would decide the next AEW world champion. Brackets were Hangman Page versus Bryan Danielson with the winner against Chris Jericho and Darby Allin versus Sammy Guevara with the winner against Jon Moxley. The final will take place at Grand Slam on September 21.

That was a smart way to handle the situation. Khan delivered his speech backstage in a straightforward manner. It put the focus back on what AEW does best, which is wrestling matches. Even though curiosity to find out juicy details on the Punk mischief will remain, the page has been turned. This will quickly become an afterthought as far as television is concerned.

MJF speaks

The second most intriguing question was what would MJF have to say about his surprise return to AEW at All Out. The answer was not much. That can’t really be blamed on anyone, since the story idea of challenging Punk was off the table. When one door closes, another opens with opportunity. That opportunity was to have Jon Moxley rally the AEW faithful in the eye of the storm.

MJF began his promo with a perplexing babyface celebration with the Buffalo fans. He oozed smarmy charm into the hearts of the people. Once a wise Jewish man walked his people to the promised land. AEW is in need of leadership, and MJF will take AEW to the promised land. He proclaimed himself to be better than Moses. Then, Jon Moxley arrived.

Moxley wasn’t buying MJF’s bullshit. MJF quickly cut the shtick to revert back to his pompous self. MJF has a title shot in his pocket from winning the casino ladder match. He views the AEW World Championship merely as a bargaining chip to use in the bidding war of 2024 when he becomes a free agent. MJF made references to WWE, Nick Khan, HHH, and Cody Rhodes to tease his way over to the competition. Moxley snatched the mic out of MJF’s hand and threatened MJF with violence. MJF teased a physical confrontation then split without engaging in fisticuffs.

Moxley took over the segment by hyping the significance of the AEW World Championship. The title represents passion for this sport, the vision to show what wrestling could be, and the freedom to be great. AEW needs a new champion. Winners want the ball with the game on the line, and Moxley wants the ball. It is time for him to be a legend.

Damn fine promo from Moxley. He went back to the AEW mission statement talking points in a way that specifically related to him. It was a rah-rah promo to flush the sloppiness of the past few days down the toilet and start anew with refreshed vim and vigor.

On to the prime matches...

Bryan Danielson advances

Bryan Danielson met Hangman Page in a wildcard bout, and the match was as exciting as expected. Danielson was aggressive in technical acumen trying to defeat Hangman for the first time in his career. Hangman primarily fought with guts and fury. Danielson’s strategy was to damage the right arm in an effort to cancel out the Buckshot Lariat. Hangman still used his right arm often to dish out offense, but he felt the pain each and every time. Hangman’s closest moment to victory came off catching Danielson’s running knee to counter for the Deadeye piledriver.

That couldn’t keep Danielson down, and the fight continued. Hangman missed a moonsault. Danielson pounced for a running knee, but the contact knocked Hangman close to the ropes. The cowboy rolled outside to avoid a pinfall. Hangman caught a suicide dive to counter for a powerbomb onto the apron. Hangman followed for a moonsault to the outside. Buckshot Lariat time? Hangman took flight, but Danielson was ready for a reversal into a bridging roll-up to win.

Despite the lack of build, this bout still had a big fight feel. That is a testament to the star power involved. Danielson and Hangman delivered hard. It didn’t have the same emotional edge as their previous encounters, but the action was on an equal level. The story in the ring was riveting with slick counters and smooth escapes. They must have good chemistry, because the dance steps were flawless at times. Danielson finally got his win back, and Hangman lost no shine in defeat.

For the other wildcard bout, Darby Allin won’t bring Sting to the ring for his tournament match against Sammy Guevara on Rampage. He challenged Sammy to leave JAS behind as well.

New AEW trios champions crowned

Orange Cassidy, Trent, and Chuck Taylor went to battle against PAC, Fenix, and Pentagon with the increased stakes of the vacant AEW World Trios Championship on the line.

The action was blazing throughout. Even Danhausen took a tumble when PAC answered his curse with a pump kick. The match broke down into moves all around. The Lucha Bros set up their teamwork piledriver finisher, but Cassidy clocked Pentagon with a Superman punch. Chuck planted Fenix on an Awful Waffle piledriver, and Trent hit Strong Zero on Penta. PAC made the save when Trent covered the motocross ninja. Death Triangle turned the tide with triple superkicks and triple Canadian Destroyers. The Lucha Bros hit Fear Factor on Chuck, then they went flying to the outside to dispose of OC and Trent. PAC cleaned up with the Black Arrow dive on Chuck to earn the win.

Exciting match. I thought the Best Friends were a shoo-in to win, so this result surprised me. The finish played out for maximum tension. Death Triangle are worthy wrestlers to establish the prestige of the championship. Every title defense will be awesome, and there are a lot of feuds to pick up on when challengers come calling. Death Triangle already has beef with House of Black, Los Ingobernables, Best Friends, and even the Elite. PAC and the Lucha Bros have long been rivals of Omega and the Young Bucks. That should be a fun one once the Elite return.

New ROH Pure champion

The trios championship wasn’t the only gold in new hands. Daniel Garcia had a swell homecoming to Buffalo to conquer Wheeler Yuta for the ROH Pure Championship.

AEW gave Garcia the red carpet treatment with Westside Gunn rapping him to the ring. Yuta received no musical act on his behalf. Caprice Coleman was on commentary, and Bobby Cruise did introductions for the ROH vibe. Pure rules were in effect. Jerry Lynn, BJ Whitmer, and Matt Sydal were judges in the case of a time-limit draw.

The first rope break came from Garcia. Physical momentum from Yuta’s standing arm lock ushered them into the ropes. The referee ruled it a break. Garcia responded by hip tossing Yuta over the ropes down to the floor. Yuta’s first rope break came much later in the contest when he was trapped in a deep Sharpshooter. Once free, Yuta’s response was an illegal closed-fist punch. That violation of the rules acted as a free pass with a verbal warning. A second punch from Yuta would result in disqualification.

Both wrestlers exchanged submissions, escapes, and counters. Yuta went for the vaunted seat belt pin, but Garcia countered for another Sharpshooter. Garcia leaned too far back allowing Yuta to crank his neck. Garcia gyrated his hips adding pressure. That forced Yuta to submit. Garcia is the new Pure champion.

Afterwards, Danielson came to the ring to oversee the Code of Honor handshake between Garcia and Yuta. Danielson snatched the title belt out of Garcia’s hands. Slight tension was teased, then Danielson wrapped the gold around Garcia’s waist. Jericho looked on in shock from the ramp.

Garcia and Yuta were given the main event slot, and they worked hard not to disappoint. Both flourished in the Pure style for an entertaining affair with suplexes aplenty and energetic slap fighting. It was a bit weird how Yuta worked increasingly heel through the bout. He never resorted to those tactics in previous title defenses. It felt a little too much like manipulation in order for fans to rally behind Garcia, which was an odd tactic considering Garcia was the hometown hero. The Pure title was an accessory around Yuta’s waist, so I’m curious to see if AEW books this as Garcia’s purpose going forward to continue building his star power.

Let’s jam through the rest of Dynamite.

AEW tag title news. Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee will defend the AEW tag titles against the Acclaimed at Grand Slam on September 21.

It’s weak to see the Acclaimed receive another title shot by doing exactly nothing to earn it. That’s the kind of booking that is cheap, lazy, and makes the previous PPV match meaningless. It certainly does not send the message that wins and losses matter. Swerve in Our Glory beat the challengers clean. Get to the back of the line, or at least win one important match to deserve the rematch.

AEW hyped it up anyway when Swerve interrupted Max Caster’s rap. Billy Gunn cut off Swerve, and the fans cheered for the Acclaimed.

Toni Storm defeated Penelope Ford. Stakes were that Ford would earn a title shot if she could defeated Storm here. Kip Sabian was ringside wearing a box on his head, but he played no role in the match. Ford controlled the flow for much of the contest. Storm rallied for an offensive flurry and closed with a hip attack and awkward DDT for victory.

It should go without saying that it was good to have Storm on screen as new interim women’s champion. Since that hasn’t been the case in the past, it shows AEW is listening to correct certain criticism. Storm had a strong win to keep her momentum hot on the mind of viewers. Ford was impressive in defeat to reflect her as serious competition in future matchups. The action was solid until the finish. Storm’s DDT lacked emphasis on the head spike, so it came across flat as going through the motions.

TNT Championship: Wardlow retained against Tony Nese. Nese flexed his muscles then jiggled Wardlow’s pecs. That led to a headbutt, wind-up lariat, and three notes of the powerbomb symphony for a Wardlow squash win. Afterward, Wardlow tired to powerbomb Mark Sterling, but Josh Woods pulled the lawyer out to safety. Wardlow reminded critics with claims of his decreasing momentum that this is Wardlow’s world.

That was probably as fun as a squash could be. Nese never saw it coming while too busy playing patty-cake with Wardlow’s chest cleavage. This match was also a nice showcase to remind regular viewers and entice new viewers of his peak power game.

Notes: Commentary did a good job all night long addressing logic points to close doors on legit questions.

Jose The Assistant approached the Dark Order trying to poach 10 from the group. Jose wanted 10 to sign a contract from Andrade. The Dark Order protested and shoved Jose. Andrade and Rush entered. John Silver was feisty looking for a fight. Andrade calmed the situation to hand 10 a new crutch as a gift. The Dark Order was confused why Andrade did that.

Daddy Magic and Cool Hand were angered at Action Bronson getting physically involved to help Hook. This teased for a tag team match at Grand Slam.

Chris Jericho gave himself a new nickname in honor of beating Bryan Danielson. He creatively played on words from Ponce de Leon to Corazon de Leon drinking from the fountain of youth. Jericho is best wrestler ever and best sports entertainer ever to become the BWE BSEE (be-we be-see). Sammy Guevara was enamored with his own sexiness and wasn’t paying attention.

Jungle Boy is going to make Christian Cage’s life miserable upon return from injury. For now, JB will focus on Luchasaurus. He carried the dinosaur on his back for three years. It feels like JB is now free of an anchor weighing him down.

Stokely Hathaway and crew beat up a production staffer who said they were short on time.

Claudio Castagnoli will defend the ROH World Championship against Dax Harwood on Rampage. Claudio wants to be a workhorse defending the title. Harwood fights with his heart, soul, and for family each time he steps into the ring.

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Stud of the Show: Jon Moxley

Great promo at a time when AEW needed it most. Moxley steered the ship in the right direction moving forward.

Match of the Night: Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Page

Dynamite action down to the wire for a stimulating finish.

Grade: A-

This episode of Dynamite was just what the doctor ordered to move past the Punk/Elite debacle. Strong promos and enjoyable wrestling for the most part with important events transpiring.

Share your thoughts about Dynamite. How do you rate it? What were your favorite moments from the show?