WWE releases Dolph Ziggler (Nic Nemeth) and 23 other wrestlers
Sep 26, 2023
WRESTLERANK
Published: Oct 5, 2023
AEW is so awesome right now, and last night was probably the best AEW Dynamite in the fallout of a PPV.
■ The show starts off with Renee Paquette interviewing Chris Jericho & Kenny Omega backstage. Adam Copeland joins them to make his first AEW Dynamite appearance, shaking Chris’s and Kenny’s hands. Four Canadians on screen!
■ Rey Fenix faces off with Nick Jackson in an awesome opening match to kick off the show. Rey Fenix retains.
The Young Bucks and Lucha Bros always have great matches together and I don't think they'll ever find better opponents than each other. The International Championship is also becoming a great TV title.
Jon Moxley is returning next week from injury for a rematch with Rey Fenix. I'd love to see The Young Bucks, Lucha Bros and Blackpool Combat Club take turns holding the title.
■ Adam Cole visits Roderick Strong. Roddy gifts him a scooter so they can be wheel buddies. Roderick then prevents Adam from leaving by asking him to re-design his living room, which Adam of course can’t refuse.
Adam being torn between MJF and Roderick Strong is hilarious, but you’ve got to feel bad for Adam in this situation. He's really just being used by both of them, but something tells me there’s going to be a huge swerve coming out of all of this, and we may be watching the biggest heel turn ever in the making. We also still don’t know the identity of the masked man who attacked Jay White, and whether that person is even related to all of this or not is still a mystery. All in all though, it’s been entertaining hearing Roderick Strong yell “AADAAAAAMMMM”, even when Adam is a foot away from him.
■ Wardlow returns! He’s been absent from TV for months. He comes back with so much pent-up energy to a perfect squash match against Griff Garrison, putting him through powerbomb after powerbomb. He leaves the arena through the crowd.
This was a complete squash but a great reintroduction of Wardlow. There’s a lot they can do with him and I’m looking forward to seeing how they build him back up. I think it would be cool if he had a Paul Heyman-type manager, but I don’t exactly know who can fill those shoes, if there is anyone.
■ RJ City interviews Toni Storm, who has an epiphany that gives her the new name, “Timeless Toni Storm”
■ Juice Robinson & The Gunns talk in the ring. MJF comes out, talks, then heads to the ring to fight. He gets ambushed from behind by Jay White. Jay takes the AEW World Championship title and cuts a great promo on the ramp with the title on his shoulder. He calls MJF a “liar” and “a slimy gutless coward”, believing him to be the one who attacked him last week. Jay challenges MJF to a title match at Full Gear in November. MJF accepts.
The title looked very fitting on Jay White’s shoulders, but it’s not going to be easy to win it off MJF. There’s so much that could happen here between MJF, Adam Cole, Roderick Strong and Bullet Club Gold. This is building up to be a great story.
■ Chris Jericho & Kenny Omega have a match against Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher, the latter a replacement for Sammy Guevara due to a medical issue. Jericho & Omega win, then get attacked by a returning Powerhouse Hobbes. Hobbes rag dolls Omega around the arena while Don Callis makes his way down to the ring. They duct tape Omega to the ropes and Don Callis gives Kenny a chair shot to the head. Yes that’s right, a chair shot to the head!
Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega are so great together. I don’t think they have a tag team name yet. If it were me, I’d call them 'The Winnipeg Elite’. They’re going to need reinforcements now that Hobbes is with the Don Callis Family. Hobbes is looking more jacked than ever.
■ Samoa Joe has a taped promo dressed up in a suit with a cigar in his hand looking all-business. He puts MJF on notice. Does he have something to do with the masked man who attacked Jay White? Only time will tell.
■ “Timeless” Toni Storm debuts and beats Skye Blue. Toni looks like a broken mess.
■ Adam Copeland makes his official AEW Dynamite debut!
The crowd goes wild with “Adam” chants – a first in Adam’s career. He explains that the main reason why he came back was his daughter who said he should “go have fun with Uncle Jay (Christian Cage)”. Adam asks Christian Cage to come out. They stand together in the ring – an awesome sight many thought would never happen again.
Adam mentions that they’ve been best friends for 40 years, that he couldn’t stand watching him smash Sting with a chair at WrestleDream last Sunday. He warns Christian that Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne are going to leave him once they’ve sucked up all the information from his brain.
Adam then tells Christian that it’s time – time to reform the legendary tag team they once had and end their careers together. Christian Cage takes the mic, then opens his arms for a hug. While they’re embraced, Christian Cage pulls the mic up to his mouth.
“Go f*** yourself”, he says to Adam.
Christian walks up the ramp and introduces the man who Adam will have the pleasure of facing next week on Dynamite, Luchasaurus. Nick Wayne comes out with him. The show ends with a worried solo Adam looking on at a confident and protected Christian Cage.
I don’t think I’m the only one who felt like a kid again watching this. The two have so much history with each other and this feud is already legendary to me. Christian Cage is an amazing heel and is truly doing some of the best work of his career.
There’s a lot to look forward to in AEW in the coming weeks!
