AEW Dynamite Recap 1/25/2023

Wednesday nights AEW dynamite came to us live from Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. They celebrated the life of Jay Briscoe.  Here are some highlights from the action packed, emotional night.

Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara vs. Ricky Starks and Action Andretti

In the opening match we saw the Jericho Appreciation Society trying to stop their losing streak. Thus they went against the combination of Ricky Starks and Action Andretti.  Going into this match Jericho had lost two matches back to back for the first time in his AEW career. It was a solid opening contest that ended the only way we all thought it could, interface.  As Daniel Garcia hit Andretti with a bat as the refs back was turned.  Sammy gets the pin as he meets an exhausted Jericho on the entrance ramp.  Ricky Starks seems to be the most over person in wrestling that night even after the loss.  We’ll have to wait and see how far this star will rise.

TNT Championship Match: Darby Allin vs. Buddy Matthews

Next, talk about a fighting champion! Darby Allin was in his 4th defense in many weeks against House of Blacks Buddy Matthews.  Darby was a little banged up due to him and Sting’s fight in Japan this past weekend.  Matthews scored several close falls but couldn’t keep the champion down.  Even with Matthews slinging Darby around like a rag doll, Allin was able to hit the Coffin Drop on him to get the win. However, the celebration had to take a backseat as Samoa Joe interrupted with a video messages to Allin.  Claiming that him winning the title was the worst decision of his life.  The feud between Samoa Joe and Darby Allin isn’t done yet and I’m interested to see what happens next with titles involved.

JungleHook vs. Ethan Page and Matt Hardy

I’m kind of liking the name of JungleHook, it has a nice ring to it.  As Matt Hardy and Ethan Page battled the team of FTW champion Hook and Jungle Boy.  Page’s ego untimely cost them this win as Hardy had them in a position to easily get the W with a Twist of Faith on Jungle Boy.  Page called for the tag before he could and wanted the glory of the finish for himself.  Which resulted in Jungle Boy getting a Snare Trap submission on Page and him tapping out. Surely, this was an entertaining match. I liked the pairing of JungleHook. Although, you have to think, putting these two as a tag team is wasting their talents as single competitors.

Bryan Danielson vs. “The Machine” Brian Cage

Since last week we saw MJF pay off Cage to break Danielson’s arm in this match. He was on a mission to do just that.  He didn’t succeed but sure did put a beating on Bryan throughout the match targeting his left arm all night.  Daniel was lucky enough to get a roll up win over The Machine but that didn’t stop Cage from beating down Danielson after the bell.  MJF joined them at ringside as Cage wrapped Bryan’s shoulder in a steel chair sending him into the ring post.  Konosuke Takeshita made his way out to the ring before anymore damage could have been done to Danielson, scaring away MJF.  With Bryan potentially having an injury to overcome, this could set up a MJF vs Takeshita match if he isn’t ready to compete.

Toni Storm vs. Ruby Soho

I give all the women in AEW credit, they are next level. From a bloody street fight one week to a normal singles match this week. Toni Storm took on Ruby Soho in a match that was mostly dominated by Storm.  Even with the crowd on Soho’s side, she tried to mount a comeback but it just wasn’t happening.  Right before Toni was about to hit Storm Zero, Britt Baker made an appearance at the entrance as a distraction to help Ruby hit Destination Unknown and get the win.  The woman’s division is a very interesting one in AEW. As there are a few storylines they could grow to make for some fun and entertaining matches if they choose.

Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal

Finally, our main event of the nigth.  Throughout the night we got video packages of the late and great Jay Briscoe which led to an emotion filled crowd at Rupp Arena.  A match in honor of Jay featuring his brother Mark Briscoe against their close friend ,Jay Lethal.  Many wrestlers in the locker room wanted the opportunity to pay tribute and wrestle on behalf of him in this match but Mark picked Lethal.  These two men deserve all the credit in the world to want to still entertain thousands only days after a tragic accident took the life of a brother, father and friend.  The crowd knew that and of course, were appreciative of every bit of action they were willing to give. Mark came out victorious by using his brothers own finishing move the Jay Driver and the audience erupted. 

If that didn’t move you, then seeing the entire locker room empty out onto the stage to honor Jay definitely would have.  Mark stood tall in front of everyone on top of the stage carrying the ROH Tag Team titles that he and his brother held on 13 occasions as tears filled his eyes.  The most fitting way to end AEW Dynamite as Mark continued on his brothers legacy in the only way he knew how.