Sammy Guevara And Andrade El Idolo Drama Overshadows A Solid Show
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This week marks the third anniversary of AEW's flagship show, Dynamite. The week also continued the trend of laborious backstage drama for the company. After a lackluster episode last week and more evidence of locker room dysfunction, AEW desperately needed a great show - and they certainly set themselves up for success with a fantastic card.AEW's 3rd Anniversary show was an extended edition, with fifteen more minutes of action, great matches, and tons of build for upcoming episodes. Here are your winners and losers for the October 5th episode of AEW Dynamite.RELATED: AEW Calls Off Andrade vs. 10 Match After Alleged Backstage Altercation
Winners: MJF & Wheeler Yuta Deliver A Banger
It had been a long 129 days since MJF's last match. The prodigy showed no signs of ring rust or fatigue as he delivered an absolute banger of a match with Wheeler Yuta.
Throughout the match, Yuta tried to quicken the tempo, but the cerebral Friedman always had an answer. Wheeler attempted his top rope splash multiple times, but MJF would casually roll out of harm's way each time. MJF delivered some jaw-dropping offense, including a unique powerbomb backbreaker.
As the see-saw battle reached its peak, both competitors exchanged pinning combinations. When the exuberant amount of pinfall attempts was finished, a double clothesline laid both men out and got every fan in the building standing in appreciation.
When he was back to his feet, Wheeler went to the top rope, hoping to finally land his big splash. MJF rolled away again and threw Yuta a middle finger for good measure. Distance be damned, Yuta leaped nearly the entire length of the ring and landed his splash. The BCC member set MJF for his seatbelt pinning combination, a move that earned him several victories, but MJF countered the move into his Salt of the Earth submission hold.
Yuta made a valiant effort to escape, but when Friedman yanked the arm back even further, Yuta had no choice but to tap out.
Winner: Wardlow Defends His TNT Championship Against Brian Cage
Speaking of wrestlers we hadn't seen in a long time, Brian Cage challenged Wardlow for the TNT Championship in an impressive battle of monsters. They started the match as you'd expect big men to; strikes, clotheslines, and big boy moves. Then, each man showed their athleticism. Wardlow executed a beautiful standup hurricanrana, and Cage answered with a standup head scissors.
Wardlow went for his power bomb early, but it was countered into a beautiful sit-down spine buster. The champion displayed his arsenal of suplexes, hitting German and belly-to-belly suplexes to perfection. After some pop-worthy offense, Wardlow was finally able to hit his power bomb symphony, which looked even more incredible against the massive Brian Cage. 1-2-3! Wardlow retained his TNT Championship in a hell of a fun match.
Loser: Britt Baker Gets A Taste Of Saraya
Toni Storm, Willow Nightingale, and Athena took on Jamie Hayter, Serena Deeb, and Penelope Ford in a tremendous trios match. Each woman showed how impressive and deep their talent was, and more importantly, each woman seemed to get a very positive crowd reaction. In a pleasant surprise of a finish, Willow Nightingale got the pinfall victory over Penelope.
After the match, Saraya and Britt Baker went nose-to-broken nose. After some jawing, Saraya and Baker started swinging, initiating a full-on turf war brawl between the heels and baby faces. Saraya got the last laugh, tossing Baker out of the ring and nailing Reba with a super kick. The returning star looked ready to fight despite Baker mentioning that Saraya couldn't wrestle.
RELATED: Saraya's Role In AEW Will Be Determined By The Promotion's Doctor
Losers: Despite Backstage Drama, Sammy Guevara Gets Pin Over Daniel Garcia
Even before the recent Twitter war and physical altercation with Andrade El Idolo, Sammy Guevara was one of the most hated wrestlers in the industry. Now, his heat is nuclear. As the bell rang, the Washington DC crowd chanted "F*** you, Sammy" at the top of their lungs. A jerk he may be, but Guevara had a great tag match teaming with Chris Jericho to take on Bryan Danielson and Daniel Garcia.
Fans popped loudly when Garcia and Jericho finally went at it. They exchanged a plethora of strikes and shots. Garcia was able to put his former mentor in his Dragon Slayer submission hold, but Jericho was able to escape. Later, Jericho went for his Lionsault, but Garcia got his knees up.
Jericho made the tag to Guevara, and each time Sammy made an impressive maneuver, he received "you still suck" chants from the crowd.
Danielson was suplexed through a table on the outside of the ring, putting him out of the commission for the rest of the match. Inside the squared circle, Garcia had Sammy in the Dragon Slayer, but as referee Aubrey Edwards was checking on Sammy for a submission - Jericho nailed Garcia with the ROH World Championship. 1-2-3!
AEW opted not to send the fans home happy on their anniversary show but rather give the pinfall victory to the most disliked wrestler in the company. It's a choice.
RELATED: The Problem With Sammy Guevara: A Great Wrestler, But A Poor Storyteller
Full Match Results & Noteworthy Moments:
MJF def. Wheeler Yuta via submission in an excellent opening match. |
Post-match, Lee Moriarty attacked Yuta from behind. William Regal came to Yuta's defense and had a stare-down with MJF. |
Darby Allin def. Jay Lethal via pinfall. |
Wardlow def. Brian Cage via pinfall to retain the TNT Championship in an excellent contest. |
The Gates Of Agony attacked Wardlow after his victory, but Samoa Joe came to help. They were still outnumbered, but FTR (huge pop!) came to even the odds. |
Willow Nightingale, Toni Storm, & Athena def. Jamie Hayter, Serena Deeb, & Penelope Ford via pinfall. |
Post-match, Saraya and Britt Baker brawled, sparking a full-fledged war between the babyfaces and heels. |
Alex the Assistant and Rush (no Andrade) accused Private Party of not helping out when they should and contract tampering with Matt Hardy. |
The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn celebrated National Scissoring Day to a massive ovation. |
Swerve Strickland interrupted the insanely over Scissor party, receiving massive jeers. Swerve challenges Billy Gunn to a match next week. |
Hangman Adam Page def. Rush via pinfall. |
Jon Moxley came out after Page's victory and cut an excellent promo, hyping their Championship match in two weeks. |
Willow Nightingale challenged Jade Cargill to a TBS Championship match. |
Luchasaurus def. Fuego Del Sol via pinfall. |
Jungle Boy attacked Luchasaurus with a chair. He challenged his former partner to a match. |
Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara def. Daniel Garcia & Bryan Danielson via pinfall and shenanigans. |
