AEW Dynamite Results – October 7, 2020

Written by Innes McVey • Published 9th October 2020
Graphic for Chris Jericho 30th Anniversary AEW Dynamite

Emanating from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida – AEW present a special episode for their 54th episode of AEW Dynamite celebrating Chris Jericho’s 30th anniversary in wrestling!

Much of the card has already been announced including:

  • Big Swole Vs Serena Deeb
  • The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho & Jake Hager) Vs Chaos Project (Luther & Serpentico)
  • FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) Vs The Hybrid2 (Angelico & Jack Evans) for the AEW Tag Team Championship
  • Will Hobbs Vs Brian Cage for the FTW Championship
  • Cody Vs Brodie Lee in a Dog Collar Match for the TNT Championship

Brian Cage defeats Will Hobbs via Pinfall, retaining the FTW Championship in 8:46

  • Cage pulled out a ton of athletic moves to counter Hobb’s power – even doing a Standing Shooting Star Press at one point!
  • Hobbs meanwhile took a ton of punishment and kicked out of Cage’s F-5000 for a very near fall.
  • Cage got an opening after Hobbs missed a Frog Splash, allowing him to hit the Drill Claw for the win.
  • Tazz attempted to recruit Hobbs after the match, or else. Darby Allin made the save.

Analysis: Very interesting clash of styles! Cage used a lot of his athletic arsenal to counter Hobbs’ power but ultimately got the win after Hobbs tried the same. Darby Allin against Cage in the future would be a superb title match, could be at Full Gear?

Various Stars Congratulate Chris Jericho on his 30th Anniversary

  • Slash, Dennis Miller, Bully Ray & Jericho’s dad, Ted Irvine, all sent their congratulations.
  • NJPW’s Hiroshi Tanahashi also made an appearance on video and congratulated Jericho.

Analysis: Jericho’s celebrity connections through Fozzy are well-known so I’m not surprised he managed to get a few big names to appear on the show. Hiroshi Tanahashi was the most surprising of them all though, this being the first time a NJPW wrestler has appeared on AEW Dynamite. The NJPW logo was also featured next to him. Hopefully, this is a sign that relations between the two companies are growing so we can get some proper crossover in future.

Lance Archer Sends a Warning to Jon Moxley Ahead of Next Week

  • Archer references his Wrestle Kingdom match with Moxley from earlier in the year, where Moxley retained the IWGP US title.
  • Archer warns their AEW World Title match next week won’t go the same way.

Analysis: Yet more referencing to NJPW, this time with full-on pictures from Archer & Moxley’s Wrestle Kingdom match. Really hope this is indicative of a NJPW/AEW relationship blossoming. Could be a very good sign for the future.

FTR defeat The Hybrid2 via Pinfall, retaining the AEW Tag Team Championship in 14:04

  • Hybrid2 started strong with fast-paced, high-flying moves. FTR focused on Jack Evans and worked on his leg, but Angelico managed to tag in and clean house towards the end of the match.
  • FTR retained after the duo hit a Powerplex combination on Evans, inspired by Power and Glory.
  • The Young Bucks reminded FTR of their constant presence, shown watching the match as FTR made their entrance and superkicking the backstage camera man after in a jovial taunt to the champions.
  • Best Friends showed a photoshopped image of FTR in hot dog outfits, called FTR “weiners” & announced that they’ll challenge FTR for the Tag titles next week.

Analysis: Very fun match! Hybird2 have been under-utilised on AEW Dynamite lately and this match proved they should be around more often, their high-flying was a perfect counter for FTR’s old-school style. Best Friends versus FTR next week should be really great, if the Street Fight a few weeks ago was any indication.

More Stars Congratulate Chris Jericho

  • MJF delivers a very sarcastic promo sucking up to Jericho, saying that he inspired him but also hinting that he was better…and we know it.
  • Shaq, Gene Simmons, Don Callis, Lars Ulrich and Diamond Dallas Page all congratulate Jericho over video.

Analysis: MJF’s sarcastic promo tickled me. I absolutely love MJF, hope this is a low-key hint at a potential Jericho/MJF feud down the line. If they did that right, it could be AEW story of the year. Don Callis is an interesting appearance considering his current links to IMPACT and NJPW.

Cody defeats Brodie Lee via Pinfall, winning the TNT Championship in 20:32

  • Greg Valentine was shown in the crowd, linking to his history in Dog Collar matches.
  • Spot of the match was shockingly during the ads: Cody delivering a Package Piledriver off the apron and through a table, which busted Lee wide open.
  • Cody got the TNT title back after using the Final Cut and a second Cross Rhodes to keep the leader of the Dark Order down.
  • Cody said he wanted to defend the title at the anniversary show next week. Orange Cassidy comes out and the two exchange thumbs up, with Cassidy seemingly accepting the American Nightmare’s challenge.

Analysis: Bloody and brutal. I thought this stipulation might have been too ‘gimmicky’ like the last few strap matches WWE have done but I really quickly warmed to it after I saw them using the chain to lacerate and choke each other. This was utter chaos – Arn delivering a spinebuster, Lee kicking out of the Cross Rhodes at ONE, Cody using the Final Cut etc. Rhodes winning was the right decision and, if they Cassidy gets serious, Cody Vs. Cassidy could be exceptional.

AEW World Championship Tournament Announcements, Kenny Omega Interview

  • Wardlow, Colt Cabana & ‘Hangman’ Adam Page get announced for the AEW World Championship Tournament.
  • Kenny Omega calls Page a “tag wrestler with an interest in the belt’.
  • Omega is very confident he can win the tournament due to his prowess at winning tournaments and that he can win the World Championship regardless of who the champion is.

Analysis: Page & Omega were the spotlight of these announcements & interview. Kenny subtlety referenced his G1 Climax win a few years ago (yet ANOTHER NJPW reference) and mocked Page by calling him just a tag wrestler. If this is headed to an Omega/Page final for the #1 Contendership, I am all in. It’s been far too long since either have had a stand-out singles match and those two could easily put one together.

Big Swole defeats Serena Deeb via Pinfall in 8:34

  • Deeb didn’t get an entrance, which I felt was a little disappointing.
  • Started slow with collar and elbow tie-ups, but quickly broke down into lethal strikes being exchanged between the two.
  • Swole gets the win, hitting a quick combo of a forearm and headbutt to pin Deeb for the three count.

Analysis: Felt like this could have been given more time. This felt a little rushed to me, like most women’s matches on AEW Dynamite as of late unfortunately, you maybe could have taken a few minutes from Brodie Vs. Cody and gave it to this match. Having these sort of nothing matches being the only women’s match on the show doesn’t really help drive interest in the AEW Women’s division, which is a shame as they have some great people in it.

Moxley Delivers a Rebuttal to Archer

  • Moxley also recalls his match with Archer at Wrestle Kingdom in January, saying that he barely survived it.
  • Moxley says that he’ll survive Archer though, because in the end “Everybody Dies.”, even Archer.

Analysis: Good build to the World Championship match on next week’s AEW Dynamite. I LOVE them referencing the Wrestle Kingdom match and their general history in NJPW, makes AEW’s world seem that much bigger and non-isolated. For those keeping count, this is the FIFTH NJPW reference on this show alone. Something’s definitely in the works.

Final Round of Congratulations for Jericho’s Anniversary

  • Lance Storm, Kevin Smith, Eli Roth, Gabriel Iglesias, Chavo Guerrero Jr, the band Steel Panther, Ultimo Dragon & Paul Stanley all thank Jericho this time.
  • Jericho’s celebrity connections being involved makes Jericho’s anniversary feel that much bigger.

Analysis: No NJPW-related person this time but a really interesting group of wrestlers and celebrities instead. Lance in particular was great to see given his history with Le Champion! The big-name celebrities throughout made it feel like a BIG deal too.

The Inner Circle defeat Chaos Project via Pinfall in 8:43

  • Luther did some big spots throughout, at one point delivering a Flip Senton from the top rope to the outside on everyone.
  • Jericho won in domiant fashion though, knocking Luther out with a lightning-quick Judas Effect and getting the pinfall for the win.
  • MJF interrupted Jericho thanking the crowd afterwards, giving Jericho the gifts of ‘Clownical The Clown’ and a giant portrait of MJF himself.
  • Jericho hit the clown with the portrait and it looked like the two were gonna start brawling, but they laughed it off. It was all a rouse! The whole roster comes out to celebrate as credits with Jericho’s name under everything roll.

Analysis: A bit of a weird main event, probably the weakest match of the night, but I totally get why it got the position it got. This was to give Jericho & Luther their moment in the spotlight given their history and I’m glad it didn’t overstay its welcome. The very slow teasing of Jericho Vs MJF down the line was great, but the sitcom-esque ending with everyone coming out and credits rolling with everything being credited to Jericho was excellent. Really fun end to a great episode with a little bit of everything.

A very fun episode of AEW Dynamite that built well to next week’s Anniversary show. Cody Vs. Lee was my match of the night but really enjoyed all the title matches, all of them delivered. We had some great story and character work too with the main event’s aftermath and the Moxley Vs Archer video packages.

Just a shame that the women’s match was short and felt quite rushed, they could have taken a few minutes from the Dog Collar match and given it to them I felt. Next week’s show looks to be pay-per-view levels of good though and this show helped build that tremendously.

Keep up-to-date with all the results from every Dynamite and AEW pay-per-view, as well as the latest AEW news, right here at Inside The Ropes.