AEW Dynamite Results (8/23): Moxley Vs Fenix, Ospreay And Jericho Contract Signing, The Elite Compete
This is Wrestling INC.'s live coverage of "AEW Dynamite" for August 23, 2023!
Tonight's show is the go-home episode for the highly anticipated All In event this weekend, and Tony Khan has teased that changes to the match card will be taking place which could be revealed this evening.
Renee Paquette will be helping to build the All In main event as she is set to speak with Adam Cole and MJF separately as they prepare to compete for the AEW World Championship.
The duo are set to challenge for the ROH World Tag Team Champions during the Buy In hour, but who they will be facing shall be determined tonight. That's because Aussie Open will be putting their titles on the line against The Hardys.
After being attacked by Will Ospreay last week, Chris Jericho will look to make their encounter at Wembley Stadium official when they sign their match contract. Meanwhile, The Young Bucks are set to go face-to-face with their All In opponents, FTR.
The Elite are also going to be in action tonight against The Gunns and Juice Robinson as the Bullet Club Gold members attempt to gain the upper hand ahead of their All In encounter.
Jon Moxley and Rey Fenix are also set for singles action ahead of the Stadium Stampede this weekend as each man aims to build momentum towards Saturday's show. Meanwhile, the Blackpool Combat Club could reveal their teammates for that encounter.
Skye Blue will be in action against Ruby Soho, while Nick Wayne attempts to get revenge against Swerve Strickland and AR Fox for their attack on him when he competes against them with Darby Allin.
Finally, after defeating RVD, Jack Perry has promised that he will be retiring the FTW Championship tonight.
The Elite vs. Juice Robinson & The Gunns
The Elite waste no time, jumping The Gunns and Juice Robinson straight out of the gate as all six men begin brawling around ringside. Robinson picks up a chair and attacks Nick Jackson with it but when he tries it a second time Rick Knox pulls it away from him. However, Robinson drops him with a right hand and Bullet Club Gold takes charge with Jay White helping out to prove a numbers advantage. Matt Jackson does gain an advantage with some superkicks, but White gets back involved.
Omega takes him out and then launches The Gunns around the ring, but once again White gets back into the ring, only for him to eat a V-Trigger. Omega aims to hit another one but Konosuke Takeshita appears, nailing him with a clothesline to stop it from happening. The brawl continues until FTR makes their way down and level up the numbers, helping the brawl to become more even.Takeshita and Omega are left alone in the ring with Omega hitting a V-Trigger, but as he goes for the One-Winged Angel Takeshita manages to dive out of the ring and make his way up the ramp.
MJF is then shown backstage with Renee Paquette as he admits his trunks will be tight as he loves the idea of fans cheering for him. He wants the fans to get a pint, get p*ssed, and cheer on their favorite chav. He promises he will buy everyone a pint if they do it. However, he does admit to feeling pressure for this Sunday, as it doesn't happen without the people who paved the road prior. He lists the likes of Hulk Hogan, John Cena, Triple H, and The Undertaker.
He says he is standing on the shoulders of giants and if he wins he might become one himself, so he's ready for the pressure. MJF says he's never had a genuine friend before, and Adam Cole has made him a better person. He taught him he could trust and let his guard down, and he calls Cole his brother. He says brothers push and fight each other, but they hug it out. He asks fans to be vulnerable with him and he promises they will be rewarded as he is their scumbag.
Jon Moxley vs. Rey Fenix
Rey Fenix and Jon Moxley immediately start out brawling as they exchange chops, but it is Fenix who takes advantage, sending Moxley out of the ring as he then hits back-to-back dives out of the ring. However, the Blackpool Combat Club star quickly turns things around by attempting to pull Fenix's mask off as he then stomps him head-first onto the mat as he then boots him in the face for good measure.
Back inside the ring, Fenix fires back with several kicks, but Moxley avoids the boot when Fenix runs on the ropes and eventually catches him with a huge clothesline. The two then go back to throwing jabs at each other as Moxley begins to take control with his aggression, focusing on Fenix's taped-up elbow. Moxley then drops Fenix with a piledriver, but the masked star responds with a huge superkick of his own.
Fenix then springboards from the second rope to hit a spinning kick to the face of Moxley, but he then gets caught in a rear-naked choke only to jump out and then stomp on Moxley before nailing a cutter. Fenix catches Moxley with another superkick before hitting a huge Frog Splash that Moxley only just kicks out from. Moxley responds with the anti-air, but both men go down after their heads collide.
Both men pop up and then begin exchanging forearm strikes and chops, and that continues up to the top turnbuckle where Moxley ends up biting the face of his opponent. Moxley then nails an Avalanche Death Rider, but Fenix kicks out! Moxley immediately locks in a sleeper hold to gain a submission victory.
Winner: Jon Moxley
The rest of Blackpool Combat Club then arrive with crowbars in hand yet Fenix's partners try to appear only for Ortiz to appear blocking them. Santana then makes his return and they take out Eddie Kingston and Penta while Fenix gets dropped with a crowbar and has to be stretchered out.
Backstage Paquette tries to speak with Kingston but he points out that it was her husband who did this as he pushes the microphone out
Chris Jericho And Will Ospreay Contract Signing
Paquette is then shown with Sammy Guevara, as the other members of the Jericho Appreciation Society point out that Chris Jericho did say yes to Don Callis. Guevara says Jericho is blinded by friendship, and when you're friends are in the wrong you have to have their back. Angelo Parker says he doesn't want Guevara to make the same mistake as he wonders if Jericho will be there for him.
Will Ospreay and Don Callis then head to the ring for the contract signing with Jericho and Guevara meeting them inside the ring. Callis says he did what he did because of Ospreay. He realized the only thing better for him than having Jericho in the Don Callis Family was by ending his career, so he had to make an offer to Ospreay that nobody else could, and the clincher was offering Jericho's head on a platter at Wembley.
Callis points out Jericho nearly died in England previously, and this Sunday he will be ringside to help make it happen. Ospreay then questions if Jericho is taking this seriously or a vanity project to say his band played at Wembley Stadium. He says this match changes his life as he is trying to get as much money as possible to help his stepchild go through school. Ospreay points out his contract with New Japan comes up in six months, and who won't pay millions for him because he knows he is the best wrestler in the world.
Jericho congratulates Ospreay on what he's accomplished, but points out he wouldn't have done that without him. He called Ospreay five years ago and told him to tone things down to have the longevity, because he knew what Ospreay would be before anyone. Jericho points out this match has been in the works for years and his is the biggest show of his career, this is bigger than any WrestleMania, any Tokyo Dome, anything. It means more to him than anything else as he's coming at it from the top of the mountain.
He tells Ospreay to prove it to him and tells him not to reget stopping him from being in a wheelchair. Jericho slaps Ospreay and they're then pulled apart by security.
Darby Allin & Nick Wayne vs. AR Fox & Swerve Strickland (Tornado Tag Team Match)
Adam Cole is then shown with Renee Paquette and he thanks MJF for reminding him who the real Cole is, and he will love him forever for doing that. He says he got into wrestling to be the best wrestler, and the AEW World Championship solidifies that, which is why he needs to win the match, and he will. Cole then sees footage of issues he has had with MJF, but he says he is done, and he questions why people find it so hard that they're friends. There are no issues between them.
The tag team match then starts at an electric pace as they all begin brawling until AR Fox leaps to the top turnbuckle and hits a German Suplex to Nick Wayne. He follows that with an implosion senton to both his opponents as he then throws the bloody tank top from the Wayne beatdown at Wayne's mother. Swerve Strickland continues the beating by throwing Wayne back-first onto the ring apron.
Wayne and Allin fight back though as Wayne hits a double Wayne's World on the outside, with Allin following it up with a Coffin Drop to them. The fight then spills into the crowd as the two teams brawl with each other as Allin hits a Coffin Splash to Strickland while he's placed onto a chair. However, Fox drags Wayne toward his mother, showing him beaten down as they all head back to the ringside area.
Wayne gets suplexed onto the floor next to his mother, but back inside the ring, Allin hits a stunner to Fox before he launches himself out of the ring at Strickland. He then sits Strickland on a chair, but Fox wipes him out first and puts Allin on the chair as Strickland stomps down on him from the top turnbuckle. The heels then place their focus on Wayne, hitting a variety of moves that he continues to kick out from afterward. Despite that, Wayne locks in a clever pinfall attempt, hooking the legs of Fox, and with Allin stopping Strickland from getting involved they pick up the win.
Winners: Darby Allin & Nick Wayne
After the match, Strickland gets on the microphone and laughs. He says it's so disappointing to Fox. He questions why he blows every opportunity and says he tries, but questions why he's such a loser. Strickland says this was all a test, and he can't trust him at Wembley Stadium, and Prince Nana fires him as Brian Cage then wipes him out. However, Allin, Wayne, and Sting then appear and chase away their rivals.
Allin then says he still owes his career to Fox and they shake hands, while Christian Cage then appears with Luchasaurus.Cage points out that Wayne's father was a talentless hack and doesn't have much to live up to, and he tells him to stay away from Wembley or he will see the coffin door close on someone else he cares about.
The Young Bucks & FTR Face Off
Renee Paquette is then shown and FTR says that they helped them earlier because they want to know which team is best, not because they're friends. Matt Jackson when they first did All In it seemed impossible and now here we are, and being the biggest match of their career is an understatement. While Nick Jackson points out that FTR needs to beat them.
Cash Wheeler agrees there's a lot on this one, while Dax Harwood says this goes beyond business, it is personal.Harwood says it goes far beyond the titles, it's about legacy, and the only team that stands in their way is The Young Bucks. Matt cuts him off and reminds him how he feeds their families as they're the reason they got brought in. Matt says when they hang it up, people will give them their flowers for being the best team to ever compete, while they will say FTR are the guys they named on their YouTube show.
Harwood says The Bucks had to use their name to try and get on their level, but in front of 80,000 people, they will make them. They will crack their foundation a Wembley Stadium.
Ruby Soho vs. Skye Blue
Ruby Soho attempts to attack Blue straight away but she instantly turns things around by sending Soho into the barricade, yet inside the ring Soho regains control by slamming Soho to the mat. Blue fights back by sending Soho to the floor as she then hits a diving crossbody from the ring apron. However, Soho distracts the official when they get back to the ring as she knocks Blue off the top turnbuckle.
Blue catches her with a forearm which allows her to hit the crossbody from the top turnbuckle this time and then a neckbreaker. The two women then go back and forth with pinfall attempts but neither get the win. Blue connects with Skyfall, but Soho manages to kick out. Soho then hits No Future and then Destination Unknown to take the win.
Winner: Ruby Soho
Paquette is then shown with Roderick Strong and The Kingdom, and he says by the end of the night we will see who the real MJF and Cole are at All In.
Aussie Open (c) vs. The Hardys (ROH World Tag Team Championship Match)
The Acclaimed then make their way to the ring and demand the House Of Black come to the ring and fight. They oblige with that and the numbers advantage allows them to dominate the brawl until Billy Gunn makes his return which leads to the trio backing down. Gunn says they got his attention after he had to do the hardest things he ever had to, walk out on The Acclaimed and leave behind his career.
However, last week House Of Black hurt one of his kids, and then they destroyed his boots. Because they p*ssed on his career, for one more time at All In, he will take everything from House Of Black. Gunn says at All In it's House Of Black vs. The Acclaimed and there's a badass coming to London, and his name is Billy Gunn.
Aussie Open vs. The Hardys
Aussie Open jumps The Hardys immediately, but the veterans fight back as they all brawl in the corners. Matt drops down to the mat allowing Jeff to leap off him which he does twice to hit each man. The Hardys then work with a double-team series of moves against Kyle Fletcher as the two teams then brawl outside the ring. Fletcher nails Jeff with a superkick though while Mark Davis drops Matt onto the ring apron.
The match finally settles with Jeff being isolated inside the ring but he manages to make the tag as Mat comes in and begins taking down Fletcher with his Delete attacks in the turnbuckle pads. Davis then gets dropped with a DDT as Matt hits a Side Effect to Fletcher which gets him a nearfall. Hardy looks for a Twist Of Fate but Fletcher reverses it only to eat a flurry of punches in the corner of the ring.
Matt joins him on the top turnbuckle and nails a suplerplex as Jeff comes in with the splash, but Davis breaks things up. Aussie Open then hit a huge double team to Jeff as he was launched in the air and they dropped down to the mat so they could retain.
Winner (and still ROH World Tag Team Champions): Aussie Open
After the match Aussie Open claims they will still be champions after Sunday, bay bay. This leads to MJF and Adam Cole heading to the ring to face off with the champions as they then begin brawling, which ultimately leads to them trying for a Double Clothesline and a Kangaroo Kick, but Aussie Open do get dropped as MJF and Cole help each other when their backs are turned.
However, Cole goes for a superkick only for Fletcher to avoid it as he nearly hits MJF, but the champion grabs his foot. It leads to some tension as they pose over the AEW World title. MJF barges past Cole and then puts on his Dynamite Diamond Ring, but they ultimately hug it out.