Sports
AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from November 27
0 of 8Credit: AEW/Lee SouthAll Elite Wrestling returned to where it all began, the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago, for its Thanksgiving Eve episode of Dynamite.After months of demanding one, AEW champion Chris Jericho would finally receive his long-awaited ‘thank you.’ Would it cloud his judgment and distract him from the bigger picture: a championship…
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Credit: AEW/Lee South
All Elite Wrestling returned to where it all began, the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago, for its Thanksgiving Eve episode of Dynamite.
After months of demanding one, AEW champion Chris Jericho would finally receive his long-awaited ‘thank you.' Would it cloud his judgment and distract him from the bigger picture: a championship defense against SCU's Scorpio Sky?
That match headlined a show that also featured Hangman Page squaring off with MJF in a battle for the Dynamite Diamond Ring and Kenny Omega battling “The Bastard” Pac in a rematch of their All Out showdown.
Find out who emerged victoriously, how the top stories in AEW advanced and what it means for the men and women involved with this recap of the November 27 broadcast.
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Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Wednesday's show kicked off with Soul Man Jones introducing AEW world champion Chris Jericho for his very special Thanksgiving Thank You Celebration.
With costumed clowns surrounding the ring, presents set up in the ring and a photo of The Inner Circle prominently displayed, Jericho addressed the fans and claiming to have found the world's finest grapes for a little bit of the bubbly.
He then introduced Sammy Guevara, Santana and Ortiz, who made their way to the ring present their leader with his gifts. The Spanish God went first, revealing a cardboard cutout of him and Jericho embracing.
Santana and Ortiz gifted the champion a ‘Boriqua Basket,' complete with “a little bit of the 40,” and deemed him “an official boriqua.”
Next, Jake Hager appeared with an actual goat named Chris Jerigoat.
The next gift proved to be Jericho's own father, Ted Irvine. Irvine exclaimed the Blackhawks were brutal and said he used to beat the hell out of Bobby Hull. “The Chicago Blackhawks were, and always will be, wimps!”
Jericho produced an official statement from AEW and TNT brass. He persuaded Justin Roberts to enter the ring and read it for him. He did, reading off the surprisingly positive thank you. Unhappy with his tone, Jericho and his teammates beat the announcer down until SCU, dressed as the marching band, made the save to close out the segment.
Grade
A
Analysis
This was more brilliant heel work from Jericho, whose insincerity and comedic timing elevated content that may not have hit if a lesser-skilled performer recited the exact same lines.
He has been superb in this latest incarnation of his character, making the most of the championship run while supplying AEW with the charisma and entertainment that he was so synonymous with during his time in WWE.
The jokes, the heel heat for his dad and the bullying beatdown of Roberts helped further establish the Inner Circle as heels, even if it is getting increasingly more difficult to hate Le Champion.
Just a fantastic overall segment that continued the AEW champion's hot streak in this, the first year in company history.
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Credit: AEW/Lee South
Pentagon Jr. and Fenix attacked from behind as Trent, Chuck Taylor and a turkey costume-clad Orange Cassidy made their way to the ring, leading to the night's first in-ring competition.
The Lucha Bros dominated the competition through the commercial break, shaking off a rough start to down Trent. Taylor received the hot tag and exploded into the match, rolling right into a single-leg crab before eating a nasty superkick from Fenix.
Trent returned to the ring but his momentary momentum was halted by Pentagon and a nasty destroyer. A distraction from Cassidy nearly allowed Trent to put the match away with a rollup, but Pentagon shot his shoulder off the mat at the last second.
Taylor wiped Pentagon out at ringside while Trent delivered the Crunchie to pin Fenix in what was a major upset.
Result
Best Friends defeated Lucha Bros
Grade
B
Analysis
Tuesday on AEW Dark, Trent defeated Pentagon in what was another extraordinary upset given their perceived statuses in the company, so perhaps Wednesday's outcome should not have been quite the shocker it was.
Yet, just one week after Fenix pinned Nick Jackson of The Young Bucks in singles competition, it was still surprising to see him knocked off by the underrated Trent here.
The match itself was rather formulaic given the talent involved but it accomplished what it set out to do: it put The Best Friends over the top-ranked tag team in AEW and set them up to be a legitimate contender in the division.
Possibly as result of Cassidy's popularity.
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Credit: AEW/Lee South
Hikaru Shida sought to maintain the momentum she built for herself a week ago via her win over Britt Baker as she teamed with Kris Statlander to battle the legendary Emi Sakura and the devious Bea Priestley.
The heels worked over Shida, wearing her down and isolating her from her partner.
The hot tag to Statlander led to a red-hot babyface comeback that saw her and Shida down the opposition with power moves.
Eventually, Priestley provided a distraction that allowed Sakura to hit Statlander with her microphone stand and score the tainted victory with a cradle.
Result
Sakura and Priestley defeated Shida and Statlander
Grade
B-
Analysis
There was a decided lack of in-ring chemistry between these four competitors that ultimately hurt the overall quality of the match. It was a disjointed mess of a match with a questionable finish.
After Shida picked up the win over Baker, why have her drop a tag team match to Sakura and Priestley, neither of whom appears to be en route to a championship opportunity anytime soon?
And Statlander was, arguably, the hottest free agent competitor in women's wrestling. Why beat her in her first opportunity to showcase her skills on Dynamite? Regardless of the finish.
This simply did not work, unfortunately, a phrase becoming a bit too common in relation to the women's division.
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Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Cody returned to the squared circle after a brutal beatdown by Wardlow and MJF, squaring off with local competitor Matt Knicks.
A springboard cutter by Cody fired up the Chicago fans. He threw his weight belt into the stands and applied the Figure Four for the quick submission victory.
After the match, the team of The Blade and The Butcher emerged from under the ring to attack Cody, leaving him lying before being joined Allie, who they pulled through the opening in the squared circle.
Result
Cody defeated Knicks
Grade
C
Analysis
This was the second instance in the short history of AEW of the company introducing a tag team to the bewilderment of the audience. Much like Dark Order back at Double or Nothing, The Blade and Butcher arrived to little reaction from a fan base that the company was likely anticipating would be familiar with.
They were not and the result was a segment that lacked the punch it should have had.
That is not to say the development is not interesting. Beating down Cody means something and could benefit the tag team in the long run. The team has a great look, Allie adds to the package and with a lack of genuine heel teams, there is potential to succeed at a high level.
The other question from the segment? How many feuds does Cody need to have running concurrently? Could this not have been saved for someone without a full plate like The American Nightmare?
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Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Returning to the site of their last battle, Kenny Omega and Pac squared off in a match that would go a long way in determining world title contention.
Omega wiped out Pac heading into the commercial break, The Cleaner demonstrating a renewed purpose and aggression as he took the fight to his opponent.
Back from the break, the competitors unloaded on each other with an exchange of strikes. They traded pump kicks and jumping knees before The Bastard turned Omega inside out with a wicked clothesline. A falcon arrow earned Pac a count of two as the babyface just barely kicked out.
A Black Arrow attempt by the heel missed and Omega delivered the V-Trigger. He looked for the One-Winged Angel but Pac countered. Omega ultimately countered into a roll-up of his own for the pinfall victory.
Result
Omega defeated Pac
Grade
B
Analysis
These two could have an above-average match with their eyes closed. Their skills mesh well and the result is an engaging match that fans can lose themselves in.
With that said this, like many of the night's matches, was hurt by a lengthy commercial break that hurt the flow and viewing experience. The match was solid, built on their previous encounter and had the right winner. The only negative? It lacked the sense of urgency it should have had and never felt like as big a deal as their first showdown.
Given how much Omega needed the win from a storyline standpoint, that should have been factored in more than it was.
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Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Hangman Page looked to add the Dynamite Diamond Ring to his already impressive resume Wednesday. To do so, he would have to defeat MJF, who was accompanied to the ring by the massive Wardlow.
MJF distracted the referee, allowing Wardlow to send Page into the ring post and set his associate up for dominance heading into the
Page exploded through the ropes with a tope suicida following another lengthy break and appeared to be on a roll late.
As the pace quickened, Wardlow again interfered and MJF delivered a botched Cross Rhodes for the win.
After the match, Diamond Dallas Page hit the ring to present the entitled young star with his newly won Dynamite Diamond Ring. The back-and-forth gave way to an intense, pull-apart situation that ended with referees and security spilling into the squared circle.
Result
MJF defeated Page
Grade
C-
Analysis
This was a rushed, ugly match between two young stars AEW has invested a great deal of time and energy on.
The finish, in particular, took a ton of air of what should have been a red-hot match and the post-bout antics involving DDP felt unfinished. Why was MJF not given the microphone to regain some heat by tearing the Hall of Famer down?
What should have been a great way to create more buzz for the Cody-MJF feud was, instead, a dud of a segment that hurt a lot of what the heel had done to build his star over the last month.
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Credit: AEW/Lee South
Dustin Rhodes vowed to get revenge on The Inner Circle for breaking his hand.
The heels hit the ring to necessitate a brawl. Rhodes fended off the heels until Nick Jackson made the save. The numbers game proved difficult to overcome until Matt Jackson made his return and joined his brother and their friend to clear the squared circle.
Grade
C
Analysis
This would have been more effective if it was not essentially a carbon copy of the same brawl we saw last week, substituting Matt for Private Party.
The feud is clearly setting up for a huge, multi-man match at some point but this felt like more of the same rather than gradual progression of ongoing tensions between the sides.
As it was, this was mostly unnecessary on a show already overcrowded with angles and matches.
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Credit: All Elite Wrestling
The top prize in AEW was up for grabs in the night's main event as Chris Jericho defended his world championship against tag team champion Scorpio Sky, a surging babyface from SCU that became the first man to pin the future Hall of Famer on last week's show.
Sky frustrated Jericho, thwarting any attempt at a sustained upper hand. A springboard cutter scored a near-fall for the challenger. The champion recovered, though, and applied his trademark Liontamer, looking to force a submission.
Unhappy with Sky making the ropes and necessitating the break, Jericho tried intimidating Aubrey Edwards but failed. Sky fought back with a dragon sleeper that was broke up by an interfering Jake Hager.
Frankie Kazarian arrived at ringside and fought Hager off, allowing Sky to deliver the TKO for a very close near-fall. Sky continued to fight Jericho off, delivered a hurricanrana off the top rope. A step-up enzuigiri earned Sky another two-count.
The champion caught Sky in mid-flight with the Codebreaker but he could not put him away.
A wild kick by Sky missed and Le Champion applied the Liontamer for a second time, finally earning the submission win.
After the match, Jericho reapplied his submission hold until Jon Moxley appeared in the crowd and stared the champion down to close out the show.
Result
Jericho defeated Sky
Grade
B-
Analysis
This did not exactly work quite as well as one would have hoped, for one glaring reason: the finish.
Sky dominated the action. This was his showcase and he shined, out-classing the champion to the point that Jericho was a relative afterthought from bell to bell. Then we got to the finish, where Jericho applied the submission and got the win despite the fact that he had barely inflicted any pain or punishment on his opponent.
It was a strange finish to a match with an interesting structure, to say the least.
The post-match activities involving Moxley planting the seeds for his championship opportunity was spectacular and gives fans a reason to tune in next week. That is the type of thing AEW does well. It sets the stage for a cool match or a must-see moment the week before, enticing the audience back.
It almost certainly worked here as the idea of Moxley vs. Jericho is appealing.
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