This was such an entertaining edition of Dynamite. The crowd in Minneapolis for Quake At The Lake held up their end of the bargain, and the in ring action was exciting as well. The opening match between Darby Allin and Brody King was pure violence. Sting’s involvement made it all the more exciting, and the fans showed their appreciation of Darby Allin with their reaction to his victory. Madison Rayne showed her technical prowess in one of the more exciting TBS Championship matches, and Jade had one of her best in ring performances as well. Andrade and Rush were once again able to remove Penta’s mask and that allowed them to pick up the victory over the Lucha Brothers. In the main event Jon Moxley and Lionheart Chris Jericho put on a throwback classic, and it was so fun to see. Oh yeah, CM Punk is back and he looked like he could move around on the injured foot just fine.
Tonight we have the Quake by The Lake edition of Dynamite, Live from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Darby Allin will face Brody King in a Coffin Match, Andrade and Rush take on The Lucha Brothers in a tornado tag team match, and both Luchasaurus and Ricky Starks are in action tonight as well.
GREAT Darby Allin Vs. Brody King: Allin has been dominated by King of late, including twice being choked completely unconscious, but the Coffin match is his preferred stipulation so this could be his shot at redemption. King makes his entrance and Darby starts the match like he is shot out of a cannon, diving on King before the lights come all the way back on. Darby uses a thumbtack-covered skateboard to cut Brody King and also hits him in the back with it. This is a really violent match, and King imposes his size and strength advantage on Darby with vicious strikes. The House of Black try to insert themselves in the match but it is to nearlyn no avail and Darby’s toughness shines through. Allin is helped by Sting who was waiting in the coffin all along! Sting has the House of Black paint on one of his eyes but he is clearly here to help Darby although he throws the bat to Malakai Black who decides not to use it. With the House of Black out of the picture Darby is able to use a chain to choke Brody unconscious. King falls into the coffin and Darby is the winner of the match. The crowd was hot for this one the entire time, and this w
Result: Darby Allin by closing the Coffin with Brody King inside
Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.75 Stars
Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho backstage promo: Jon Moxley calls out the Lionheart Chris Jericho once again. Jericho responds by cutting a promo of his own in his classic Lionheart gear, this is un-rateable but they both did a great job.
GREAT Andrade and Rush vs. The Lucha Brothers: Andrade and Rush enter first in matching suits. This tornado tag match is so fast paced. Both teams’ athletic styles are on full display the entire time and the crowd may be even hotter during this one than they were for the opener. The rules really allowed these guys to work at an incredible pace. After the Lucha brothers nearly win multiple times, it is a double team and then the removal of Penta’s mask that sets up Andrade to hit the El Idolo DDT for the win.
Result: Andrade by Pinfall via El Idolo DDT
Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.75 Stars
GREAT Hangman Page and the Young Bucks backstage segment: The Young Bucks offer a sincere apology to Hangman but while he accepts the apology, he does not accept their offer to join the trios tournament. This was a really interesting backstage segment, and you could hear how into it the crowd was in the background.
Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.75 Stars
SQUASH Luchasaurus vs. Anthony Henry: Jungle Boy joins the commentary team for this one, and the crowd still loves his entrance. Luchasaurus absolutely squashes Henry. He hits the Fossilizer and it is academic. After the match Christian Cage appears on screen and Jungle Boy runs backstage to attack him. He’s stopped by security but this rivalry is far from over.
Result: Luchasaurus by Pinfall via Fossilizer
Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – SQUASH
Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal and Satnam Singh: They cut a promo on Wardlow and that doesn’t often work. Wardlow answers the call and he comes out to accept Jay Lethal’s challenge for another TNT Championship match. FTR accompanies Wardlow to the ring to even the odds and make this a 3 on 3 situation. Lethal, Dutt and Singh immediately get out of there before this gets physical. Too short to rate.
GOOD Ricky Starks vs. Aaron Solo: Solo is accompanied to the ring by the Factory, but it doesn’t help him much. Starks misses a rochambo but hits a spear for the win. This was short but its the shenanigans after that provided the majority of the entertainment. It is definitely interesting how popular Ricky Starks is as a babyface. Nick Comorato runs down with a chair but Starks hits him with a spinebuster and then he is able to escape the Factory and exit via the crowd. Backstage Hobbs smashes a television in anger.
Result: Ricky Starks by Pinfall via Spear
Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.00 Stars
GOOD Madison Rayne vs. Jade Cargill TBS Championship match: Madison Rayne gets a nice reception from the crowd. The crowd gives Jade a nice pop for her entrance as well. Rayne is a total veteran and is able to bring one of Jades better performances out of her in this one. Her skill and technique vs. Jade’s power and athleticism is the story of this match. After a long back and forth, Jade is able to hit the Jaded to move to 36-0 and retain her title. Athena attacks her from behind after the match and she seems to be the clear next challenger for the TBS Championship.
Result: Jade Cargill by Pinfall via Jaded
Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
AMAZING Chris Jericho vs. Jon Moxley AEW World Championship match: Chris Jericho is wearing his classic Lionhart ring gear and he enters to his old entrance music. This is very cool for fans of the younger Chris Jericho. Moxley receives one of the biggest pops of the night before his entrance, and it is very clear this is going to be an extremely physical match. This has been as technical of an encounter as we have seen Jericho wrestle in a long time. Jericho has added moves he hasn’t used for years and the arm drag exchange to start the match is exciting. After a ton of grappling Moxley gains a little momentum with a chop exchange that he gets the better of. Jericho rips out Moxleys earring and the crowd comes alive as he follows with a springboard dropkick. Jericho is in control for quite some time in this match but Moxley’s fighting spirit is clear as he always responds even after being busted open during the commercial break. Chris Jericho is able to lock Moxley in the Walls of Jericho but he fights out. The way they made clear the difference between the Walls and the Liontamer was especially refreshing in this match. Jericho nearly wins with the Judas Effect and then again with the aforementioned Liontamer but Moxley is able to survive. He wins the match himself with a rear naked choke after an incredible fight. After the match the Appreciation Society runs down to attack Moxley but they are stopped by the Blackpool Combat Club. Then a returning CM Punk is finally able to even the odds! The Show ends with Punk and Moxley having an intense staredown in the center of the ring.
Result: Jon Moxley by Submission via Rear Naked Choke
Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 4.25 Stars
Overall: This was such an entertaining edition of Dynamite. The crowd in Minneapolis for Quake At The Lake held up their end of the bargain, and the in ring action was exciting as well. The opening match between Darby Allin and Brody King was pure violence. Sting’s involvement made it all the more exciting, and the fans showed their appreciation of Darby Allin with their reaction to his victory. Madison Rayne showed her technical prowess in one of the more exciting TBS Championship matches, and Jade had one of her best in ring performances as well. Andrade and Rush were once again able to remove Penta’s mask and that allowed them to pick up the victory over the Lucha Brothers. In the main event Jon Moxley and Lionheart Chris Jericho put on a throwback classic, and it was so fun to see. Oh yeah, CM Punk is back and he looked like he could move around on the injured foot just fine.
Matches: 0.75/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.75/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.75/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating. 3.75/5 Stars
Photo Credit: AEW
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