Posted in: AEW, Sports, TV | Tagged: aew, dynamite, wrestling

AEW Dynamite 8/5/20 – Finally, Eric Bischoff Has Returned to TNT

AEW Dynamite continues with an episode that feels like they're really trying to prove themselves after last week's misstep. The show opened with a fast-paced twelve-man tag match, we witnessed the destruction of an innocent minivan, and Sammy Guevara committed murder on Matt Hardy. But that was just the first half of the show.

AEW Dynamite 8/5/2020 Report Part 3

The Dark Order's Alex Reynolds and John Silver come out. Matt Cardona makes his way to the ring with a brand new theme song. He looks great. Really too bad the fans aren't here for this. AEW's pandemic crowd is actually great and it's barely noticeable that it isn't a full arena, but some things like Cardona's debut make me sad because both he and his fans are missing out on a special moment. Cody comes out to the ring with Arn Anderson.

Dark Order vs Cody and Matt Cardona

We all know what the point of this match is, right? Cody and Silver start things off with a shoving match. Silver shoves Cody down and Cody hits that drop-down punch he stole from his brother. He gives Silver a ten-second standing vertical… uh, flapjack, and gets a two-count. Cardona tags in and hits a double axehandle on Silver. Silver kicks him in the face. Cardona hits a flapjack but Silver gets the tag. Cardona hits a neckbreaker and tags in Cody, who tries to Irish whip Reynolds into his own corner for some reason. Reynolds reverses and Cody slides right out to the floor in the hostile corner. He's selling a rib injury. Dark order team up on him as Cardona protests in the corner, distracting the ref. Silver and Reynolds hit a bunch of elbow drops on Cody and get a two-count. Silver works those ribs hard, kicking Cody in the stomach. Reynolds tags in and hits a back elbow for a one-count. Cody tries to come back but Reynolds goes right back to the ribs. He tosses Cody into the turnbuckles ribs-first. Reynolds knocks Cardona off the apron. He tags in Silver, who gloats over Cody. Cody rolls him up for two. Silver pushes Cody into the corner and punches him in the ribs. Dynamite goes to commercials.

Dark Order is still kicking Cody's ass when Dynamite returns. Cody is the ultimate selling machine. Not only is he selling for the Silver and Reynolds, the biggest jobbers in an entire stable of jobbers, but in a way, he's even selling for Cardona. All of this selling is to hype up the Cardona hot tag, after all. Cody finally fires up and hits a scoop slam on Reynolds. Now he gets the hot tag.

Cardona hits an X-Factor. on Silver. He hits a missile dropkick on Reynolds. He hammers Reynolds in the corner then hits a double baseball slide dropkick on Dark Order on the outside. He hits a tiger driver but Silver breaks up the pin. Cody hits a Cody cutter on Silver. Reynolds kicks him out of the ring. Dark Order hits a flurry of tandem moves on Cardona and nearly pin him. Cody comes in and wants Crossroads on Silver, but Silver blocks, so Cody suplexes him out of the ring. Silver holds on and takes Cody outside with him. Cardona hits Radio Silence on Reynolds and gets the pin.

Winners: Matt Cardona and Cody

You know, I started this match saying "we all know what the point of this match is, right?" But I thought the purpose of this match was to showcase Cardona. If anything, this match showcased Dark Order. Silver and Reynolds looked great here. Cardona… well, he was fine. This is his first chance to prove himself after escaping WWE, and a tag match against enhancement talent isn't gonna do that. I hope they have a big feud planned with Cardona where he'll get a chance to have a great singles match. Here, in his brief time in the ring, I didn't see much difference from an average Zack Ryder performance. But I will reserve judgment until we see him in a singles match with a story behind it, which is where I think he can really shine if given the chance.

As Cody heads to the back, Scorpio Sky stares him down in the entrance tube. Sky has been on a winning streak on AEW Dark. Now he's coming for the TNT Championship.

In the parking lot, Best Friends have found the van and they're pissed. The van has even more spraypaint on it now and it's up on blocks with its tires removed. You can do whatever you want to them, but you do not touch Trent's mom's van. They're gonna beat them in a match and Proud and Powerful will personally apologize to Trent's mom on speakerphone. LOL. That was the best promo about someone's mom's minivan I've seen. Intense.

Sammy Guevara comes to the ring with his cue cards for the picture-in-picture segment while Dynamite is on a commercial break. "Hey Orange! Like Matt Hardy vs. the Inner Circle… you're going to lose! Not only… is the Demo God… a master in the ring! He's master on the mic. Master on the stage. Hes' a master entertainer… he's a master debater!" Sammy realizes what he's done and tears that last one up as picture-in-picture ends. We all saw that joke coming, but it was still great.

AEW Super Wednesday Debate 2020

Justin Roberts introduces the debate. A shitload of pyro goes off. He brings out the special guest moderator: Eric Bischoff! "Eric Bischoff is back on TNT, I can't believe it!" says Tony. "The Bisch is back," Taz adds. JR plugs Bischoff's podcast. Bischoff takes his seat at the moderator's table on the stage and explains the rules of the debate. There are five questions, gotten from AEW social media platforms, picked at random. Neither Mr. Jericho nor Mr. Cassidy have seen these questions. Bischoff brings Orange Cassidy out first, then Chris Jericho. Jake Hager comes out with Jericho, carrying Jericho's orange juice stained jacket on a hangar. Both are dressed in suits. Cassidy and Jericho are at their podiums. Let's get this debate going.

Jericho is asked first: "Why do Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy hate each other so much?"

Jericho mocks Cassidy for wearing his usual outfit while Jericho wore a suit. Cassidy pulls out a tie and clips it on his t-shirt. Jericho says that's why he despises Cassidy. Cassidy takes nothing seriously, and so many morons love him. Jericho says critics, historians, and experts laugh at Cassidy behind his back, just like Jericho does. He calls him a "ginger jackass who plays pocket pool." LOL.

Bischoff invites Cassidy to respond. He says nothing. Jericho explains Cassidy's gimmick to Jericho. Next question: who's the better wrestler and who's the bigger star? Jericho, naturally, says it's him. He runs down his accolades and says Cassidy has never left Florida. Jericho would bully Orange Cassidy and steal his girlfriend if they were in high school together. Cassidy is a nerd. Jericho makes fun of his wardrobe some more. Cassidy is trying as hard as he can not to break out laughing.

Bischoff asks for Cassidy's response. Cassidy adjusts his sunglasses. He has no response.

Bischoff asks them about rising sea levels next. Jericho says that has nothing to do with this situation. Cassidy, however, rattles off a detailed answer including statistics about rising sea levels. The crowd goes wild. Jericho is shocked.

Next question: why is Orange Cassidy so popular?

Jericho says he's the epitome of everything wrong with wrestling and every smart mark fan watching the show. He's a pimple on the ass of the pro wrestling business, and next week, Jericho is gonna pop him. Jericho is gonna beat him next week and make him pay for his jacket that he ruined with his demonic orange juice. Then Orange Cassidy is gonna quit wrestling and work at Jamba Juice and take Jericho's fancy drink order and Jericho isn't gonna give him a tip.

Bischoff asks Cassidy for a response. He says nothing. Last question: why does this rematch mean so much to both of you?

Jericho starts talking, but Cassidy interrupts and tells him to shut up. He knows what Jericho is doing. He scheduled a debate against a guy who doesn't talk, trying to embarrass him. Cassidy isn't embarrassed. He doesn't care. He doesn't care about Jericho. But he does care about next week. He cares about that match because it's the biggest match of his life. It's the biggest match of Jericho's life too, he tells him. He's Chris Jericho, "man." He's done it all, but what if Jericho loses to the guy that puts his hands in his pockets? He tells Jericho to look at him. Look at the man that's going to embarrass him, the man that's going to beat him next week.

Bischoff declares Orange Cassidy the winner. Jericho is livid. Jericho says he hasn't liked Bischoff for 22 years. Bischoff says it's been 24 years and the feeling is mutual. Jericho orders Hager to kick Orange Cassidy's ass. Hager beats him down, then puts Cassidy's hands into his pockets and tosses him right into a Judas Effect by Jericho. Best Friends run out and chase Jericho and Hager from the ring, but it's too late. Bischoff is already in the parking lot with his paycheck. Dynamite goes to commercials.

Winner: Orange Cassidy

That segment was awesome. Jericho was on fire, Cassidy cut a scorching babyface promo, and Eric Bischoff did his job well and hopefully got some eyes on this segment. I wouldn't mind Bischoff appearing more in an on-screen role. As for Jericho/Cassidy, you gotta love this feud. Jericho in AEW is all about turning young guys into megastars. I can see the match on next week's Dynamite ending inconclusively and resulting in a blowoff at All Out.

We're almost through Dynamite now. Just a half-hour left to go. Click below in the table of contents to read the next page.

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