All Elite Wrestling delivered an action-packed show with the August 9 episode of AEW Dynamite.
Rob Van Dam challenged Jack Perry for the FTW Championship. Plus, Hikaru Shida defended the AEW Women’s World Championship against Anna Jay. Elsewhere on the show, The Young Bucks faced The Hardys, among other matches.
Jericho Appreciation Society Mandatory Meeting
The Jericho Appreciation Society is standing in the ring. Chris Jericho comes to the ring and says he’s there as their friend. He says he knows they’ve had a lot of problems. Daniel Garcia tells Chris to listen. He recalls how Jericho pinned him last week. Garcia tells Jericho that he changed a lot about himself, and he always chose Jericho, but Jericho never chooses them. Garcia says he can’t do this anymore, and he leaves.
Jake Hager looks back on his history with Jericho and says he liked that hat. Hager tells Jericho that he doesn’t appreciate Jericho, and he walks away. Jericho says their careers are much bigger because of the JAS, and he’s proud of that. Tay Melo says she feels sick, and she’s not talking about the baby. She says she’ll come back after she has her baby, and she’ll become a champion without Jericho. Anna Jay says Jericho has helped himself more than any of them. She says tonight is about her and the AEW Women’s World Championship, and she walks away. Angelo Parker says he loves being a sports entertainer, and he doesn’t want to do this right now. He says he’s given Jericho his everything. Parker says he has nothing left to give Jericho, and he walks away.
Matt Menard says Jericho was his childhood hero. He recalls how Jericho invited him into his home and helped bring him to AEW. Menard says the last 18 months have been nothing but a dream. Menard says he understands why some of Jericho’s rivals hated his guts, and he walks away. Sammy Guevara is the last member standing. He highlights his own loyalty and says he won’t walk out on Jericho. Guevara says he might have been wrong to think that Jericho would have done the same for him. He tells Jericho that he has a lot to figure out, and if he does, he might be there.
After a commercial, Don Callis approaches Chris Jericho and apologizes. Jericho says he has an answer for Callis, and he’ll announce it next week.
The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) (with Brandon Cutler) vs. The Hardys (Matt & Jeff Hardy) (with Isiah Kassidy & Ethan Page)
Jeff Hardy and Matt Jackson feel each other out. Matt and Jeff double-team Jackson. They control the action. The Young Bucks rally as they counter a double-team move. Nick rocks Jeff with a kick and drops Matt with a face-buster. Nick and Matt hit a double-team move on Jeff, and Nick dives onto Matt at ringside. Nick accidentally kicks Matt, and Matt Hardy drops him with a DDT. Hardy and Matt take each other down with a double clothesline. Hardy floors him with a Side Effect. Nick and Jeff tag in. Jeff fires up with a flurry of offense.
Jeff hits the Bucks with Whisper in the Wind. The Jacksons dish out superkicks. The Bucks hit the 1-D on Hardy for a two count.
Matt and Jeff hit stereo Twist of Fates. Jeff hits a Swanton Bomb, but Matt Jackson breaks up the pin. Jeff hits Nick with a Twist of Fate, and Matt hits him with another. Matt reverses a Twist of Fate and counters the Whisper in the Wind. The Bucks pin Matt Hardy with the BTE Trigger.
Winners: The Young Bucks
The Young Bucks shake hands with The Hardys after the match. Nick Jackson grabs a microphone and calls out FTR. The AEW World Tag Team Champions come out and stare down the Young Bucks. Nick says, “All In”, seemingly accepting FTR’s challenge for AEW All In.
In a video, MJF and Adam Cole hang out. MJF pitches skinny dipping, and Cole turns him. Cole suggests a trampoline park instead. MJF initially isn’t into it, but he warms up to the experience when it’s time for dodgeball. He goes for “Billy Madison” by chucking dodgeballs at a bunch of kids and telling one of them he slept with their mom. Cole tries to get MJF to stop, but he tells him to hit one more when a little girl flips him off.
Backstage, Jon Moxley discusses Blackpool Combat Club’s win over Best Friends on AEW Rampage and says they don’t belong in the same ring. The group also previews their match with the Lucha Brothers. Claudio Castagnoli brings up PAC’s injury and takes responsibility for it. Wheeler Yuta mocks PAC for missing AEW All In.
FTW Championship: Jack Perry (c) vs. Rob Van Dam
Perry attacks RVD during the introductions. Van Dam gets an early two-count with a pin attempt. The veteran kicks Perry and drives him into the corner. Perry leaves the ring. Van Dam follows him, and they brawl at ringside. RVD hits his signature leg-drop on Perry. The champion takes control. He gets a table, but Van Dam fires up. Perry hits him with a chair. Perry goes for the rolling thunder, but RVD dodges it. The champion evades a senton, but RVD sends him flying with a monkey flip. Van Dam kicks Perry into a chair.
RVD hits Rolling Thunder onto a chair. Perry dodges the split-legged moonsault. He accidentally takes out the referee with a chair. RVD sends Perry crashing through a table at ringside. Van Dam hits the Five-Star Frog Splash, but the referee is down. Referee Aubrey Edwards runs in and counts the pin for a near fall. Perry hits RVD below the belt, drives him into a chair, rolls him up with the trunk and scores the win.
Winner and still FTW Champion: Jack Perry
The Lucha Brothers are interviewed, and they preview their match with Blackpool Combat Club.
In-Ring Segment: MJF and Adam Cole
MJF and Adam Cole come out. MJF debunks footage of him saying the Midwest is “mid” and says it’s his favorite place. Cole brings up their title match. MJF takes it as a challenge and says Cole is so white and pale that if it was the 80s, Hogan would have snorted him. Cole stops him and says that’s now what he wanted. Cole says he wants to go all in on making history. He states that he wants to win the tag team titles, and while they failed to win the titles in AEW, he has his sights set on the ROH World Tag Team Championship.
Cole emphasizes the impact ROH has had on his career and lists his accolades there. He says he never won the tag team titles there. Cole lists the list of great tag teams in ROH history. He says before All In, there will be the Zero Hour pre-show, and they should become the new ROH World Tag Team Champions.
MJF responds by questioning Cole for trying to get him to wrestle twice on the same night. He calls Cole his “bro-chacho” and says he’s a sucker for a cheap pop. MJF asks the fans if they want to see him and Cole win the titles. They get a big pop, and MJF challenges ROH World Tag Team Champions Aussie Open to a match at AEW All In: Zero Hour.
Roderick Strong comes out and gets upset with Cole for teaming with MJF. MJF calls him a “simp” and tells him to go home, cry into his pillow, and listen to Taylor Swift. MJF tells Strong to “shake it off” and calls him a bland bitch. Strong says The Kingdom was right about Cole, and he hugs them as they come out. MJF pokes fun at Strong. Cole shoves him, and they briefly argue before they hug.
The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli) (with Wheeler Yuta)
The Lucha Brothers get the drop on Blackpool Combat Club by attacking them from behind. The former AEW World Tag Team Champions control the action early on. Castagnoli dodges a double-team kick, and the Lucha Brothers kick each other. Moxley tags in and takes the fight to Penta. The Lucha Brothers rally, but Wheeler Yuta hits Fenix with the ROH World Championship. Castagnoli slams Fenix and grounds him. Blackpool Combat Club maintains the advantage and isolates Fenix. BCC goes for a Doomsday Device, but Fenix counters. Penta tags in and clears house with a flurry of offense.
Castagnoli dodges a frog splash. Fenix kicks Castagnoli. Claudio nails him with an uppercut. Moxley drops Penta with a cutter but gets kicked, and all four men are down. Fenix and Castagnoli trade blows. Fenix nails him with a kick. Moxley and Penta exchange strikes. The Lucha Brothers hit Moxley with a double-team piledriver. Yuta interferes, and Alex Abrahantes stops him. Fenix dives onto Yuta. Moxley unmasks Penta and rolls him up.
Winners: Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli)
Blackpool Combat Club attacks the Lucha Brothers after the bell. Castagnoli puts Penta’s mask on and keeps beating him up. He walks away with Penta’s mask, and the BCC leaves.
Backstage, Kenny Omega is asked about his plans for AEW All In, and he says he’ll be speaking about it in an interview with Jim Ross next week.
Swerve Strickland and Mogul Embassy came to the ring. Swerve says they made a statement last week. AR Fox calls out Darby Allin. Allin comes out and tells AR Fox to tell the whole story, as he tried to help Fox. Allin says Fox might have new friends now, but he has friends of his own. The lights go out, and they come back on. Sting is in the ring, and he takes the fight to Mogul Embassy. Allin runs down and chases off Mogul Embassy, leaving Strickland alone with Sting. Sting hits Strickland with a bat and points to AEW All In.
AEW Women’s World Championship: Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Anna Jay (with Matt Menard and Angelo Parker)
Shida and Jay feel each other out early on. Shida takes control, and Jay dumps her to the outside with a kick. Jay maintains the advantage and grounds Shida. The champion rallies, and the match heads outsides. Parker and Menard distract Shida. Jay capitalizes and slams Shida into the steps. Jay locks in a body-scissors, but Shida escapes. Shida fires up and hits the Falcon Arrow for a two count. The champion pins Jay with the Katana.
Winner and still AEW Women’s World Champion: Hikaru Shida
