Copyright Augusta Free Press
The road to AEW “Full Gear” raged on last night at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas, for Episode 317 of Wednesday Night “Dynamite.” This was AEW’s second annual celebration of All Hallow’s Eve, “Fright Night.” This year, the entranceway was complete with pumpkins and cobblestone tunnels. Throw in a fog machine and ambient lighting, and this may have replicated the b-movie quality of WCW’s “Halloween Havoc.” Nonetheless, I applaud AEW’s effort. Speaking of “Halloween Havoc,” Tony Schiavone donned his iconic “Phantom of the Opera” mask for this week’s episode – which played a prominent role in the post main event proceedings. This week’s episode continued telling four primary stories: Darby Allin and The Conglomeration’s war with The Death Riders. Kris Statlander’s feud with Mercedes Mone. “Hangman” Adam Page’s feud with Samoa Joe and The Opps. The Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament. The cracks emerging in the Don Callis Family. It’s that sort of succinct storytelling that creates efficient television. While the promotion is still lacking the discerning voices of Will Ospreay, MJF or Swerve Strickland: this week’s effort was a step in the right direction. Darby Allin & Orange Cassidy vs. Daniel Garcia & Wheeler Yuta The show opened with a “trick-or-treat” tornado tag match, pitting Darby Allin and Orange Cassidy against The Death Rider’s Daniel Garcia and Wheeler Yuta. In professional wrestling, Halloween is for havoc: so, this was the perfect way to kick off “Fright Night.” Rating: ***¼ The Young Bucks vs. FTR vs. Jurassic Express vs. JetSpeed The second match was the first “Fright Night 4-Way Fight” of the evening, to determine the number one contender for the AEW World Tag Team Championship at “Full Gear.” In the end, it was FTR’s who stole the victory – pinning Kevin Knight after landing the Shatter Machine. This was a raucous affair, with all of the teams, sans FTR, exhibiting a little more offense than need be. At just shy of 14 minutes, it was still short enough to not ruin the show’s momentum. Rating: ***½ The Callis Family Summit Don Callis requested all of the members of his family attend a family summit, to stomp out the animosity between Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshita. While Takeshita begrudgingly accepted to shake Okada’s hand, the “Rainmaker” refused to acquiesce. Instead, he offered Takeshita a little sign language. The ordeal proved that Callis has already chosen Okada in the divorce, reading to build around the considerable talents of “The Rainmaker.” Tensions in the women’s division Kris Statlander challenged Mercedes Mone to a face-to-face meeting, but instead found herself blindsided and dragged to the ring by “The CEO.” Athena joined her, running roughshod of the women’s champion. Harley Cameron and Willow Nightingale came to Statlander’s rescue, teasing an inevitable reunion between Statlander and Nightingale. Next week, Cameron and Nightingale will face Mone and Athena in the first round of the Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament – capitalizing on last night’s drama. Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly Last week, Kyle O’Reilly nearly forced Jon Moxley to submit with an ankle lock. Unwilling to bear the shame of surrendering, the former champion punched referee Paul Turner – earning a disqualification. This week, Moxley sought to exact some measure of revenge against O’Reilly, and prove that he’s still the promotion’s one, true king. O’Reilly had other plans, though. For the umpteenth time this year, Moxley delivered in spades – giving O’Reilly a platform to demonstrate his considerable ability. The “Death Rider” seemed apoplectic in this affair, desperately trying to prove that he’s better than O’Reilly’s ilk. Instead, O’Reilly proved that lightning can strike twice, fighting Moxley tooth and nail to the very end. Like last week’s match, the ending eschewed “Dynamite’s” usual MO of clean finishes. This time, the match ended in a double countout – with both men grappling on the floor. Afterwards, a post-match skirmish beckoned the full forces of both The Death Riders and The Conglomeration – leading to the announcement of this year’s “Blood and Guts” match. Rating: ***¾ Sisters of Sin vs. Jamie Hayter & Queen Aminata The Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament commenced last night, with a first round match between Sisters of Sin and Jamie Hayter & Queen Aminata, aptly dubbed the “Killer Queens.” I loved Hayter and Aminata’s contributions in this match, but they’re hard-hitting offense wasn’t enough to overcome the Sisters of Sin’s third women, Thekla, who intervened on their behalf to neutralize Hayter. The result saw Aminata left for dead in the center of the ring, overwhelmed by Julia Hart and Skye Blue. Hopefully, this ending culminates in the inaugural women’s match at “Blood and Guts.” Rating: *** Samoa Joe vs. Bobby Lashley vs. HOOK vs. Ricochet The main event was the second “Fright Night 4-Way Fight” of the evening, with a shot at “Hangman” Adam Page’s world championship on the line. Samoa Joe’s victory here seemed like a foregone conclusion, but this was an exhilarating television match nonetheless. Bobby Lashley and Ricochet’s contributions were particularly impressive – carrying the bulk of this match’s forward progression. After the match, “Hangman” Page got the better of Joe and The Opps thanks to a clever disguise – masquerading as Tony Schiavone, complete with a fat suit, wig, and “Phantom of the Opera” mask. Glorious sports entertainment.
