AEW Dynamite Notes - March 18, 2020, from Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place (Empty arena)

• Cody opened AEW Dynamite with an incredible promo that set the tone for the rest of the evening and why we're here.
  
  "I have never thought of my world as small before, but recent events can really put into perspective how small we all are. It has also clarified for me how big and how important the service we provide is."
  
  This was a very passionate speech that tackled the uncertainly of the world head-on while ensuring the audience at home that the talent would attempt to be a freedom from concern this evening.
  
  I enjoyed Cody playing peacemaker to ensure himself, Matt Jackson (who he deemed as responsible for All Elite Wrestling’s existence aside from Tony Khan) and Kenny Omega were on the same page ahead of Blood & Guts.
  
  

• Kenny Omega noted that didn’t know if all they’d build would fall apart next week, but if it did, he wanted to go out as The Elite.
  
  

• Matt Jackson then called out Hangman Page asking him, “Will you stand with us?” Hangman simply nodded and raised his glass from the stage, which was a very powerful visual.
  
  

• Under incredible unique circumstances, this was an excellent show opener.
  
  

• They wisely darkened the empty seats with the hard camera facing the stage. Pyro was also still introduced throughout the evening.
  
  

• Not to take anything away from the great Tony Schiavone, but I enjoy the trio of JR, Taz, and Excalibur
  
  

  NOTE: Brandi Rhodes was the ring announcer throughout the evening despite the fact she really never planned on filling that role again. Many tend to forget she was a ring announcer in WWE under the name Eden where Justin Roberts provided her with much mentorship. I thought she did a very good job throughout the evening.
  
  
  

• “Best Friends” Chuck Taylor and Trent faced “Lucha Bros” Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix.
  
  Orange Cassidy was on commentary and as expected, he had no words to say. At one point, he even fell asleep. The spot where Chuck and Trent went for their trademark hug only to elbow instead as a nod to social distancing was quite humourous.
  
  The match itself was very back and forth with Orange Cassidy eventually getting involved by jumping off the stage with his hands in his pocket. After a low blow from Pentagon to Trent behind the ref’s back, he took advantage with the spike package piledriver combo for the victory. The crowd would have obviously enhanced the match, but it was still a good effort from all competitors involved.
  
  NOTE: I loved the fact they allowed talent to sit in the crowd with heels on one side and babyfaces on the other. Any participation is better than none and MJF understandably had a chance to shine while jarring the babyfaces from the front row. By the way, he and Shawn Spears were taking bets throughout the evening.
  
  
  

• Next up was Riho vs. Kris Statlander vs. Penelope Ford (w/Kip Sabian) vs Hikaru Shida
  
  There were a few blown spots throughout the match by Ford and others, but it was still quite enjoyable. Speaking of Ford, she’s incredibly marketable, athletic, attractive and able to effortlessly switch between manager and wrestler.
  
  

  Shida (who is the number one contender for Nyla Rose) pinned Ford with a running knee strike.
  
  Sabian frequently got involved by tripping Ford’s opponents or even preventing offense.
  
  Post-match, Tony was interviewing Colt Cobana until Sabian interjected, but was slapped by Colt. Kip coward away with Penelope Ford. Cobana had a good line of, “I’m a still a wrestler you know?”
  
  
  

• There was a backstage interview featuring Tony Schiavone and Jon Moxley.
  
  The AEW World Championship is still not medically cleared and thus cannot enter the arena. He was clearly annoyed so took the Ford GT for he stole from Jericho for a spin to release some of his aggression. I’m glad they took to time to remind the audience why Moxley was not there live.
  
  
  

• We then saw The Butcher and The Blade vs Jurassic Express” Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus (Marko Stunt was not present)
  
  MJF handed some money to the Blade in the hopes of a victory while later Shawn Spears proclaimed, “300 on your, Dinosaur!” with money in his hands. Also, very funny.
  
  Luchasaurus landed some excellent kicks throughout the match. There was some miscommunication throughout the match, mainly from Jungle Boy, it didn’t take away from the match.
  
  MJF called for The Butcher and The Blade to finish the match, but it backfired with Jurassic Express recovering and landing a cutter combo for the victory.
  
  
  

• On the agenda was the long-awaited Reveal of the Exalted One.
  

  The Dark Order made their entrance with Evil Uno announcing, The Exalted One is near, the Exalted one is here.” This brought out Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian from the crowd. Truthfully, I was a little nervous this was a swerve and Frankie would be revealed as the leader of the Dark Order.
  
  CD believed the Exalted One was a lie, but instead, we were treated to a vignette on the screen where he was revealed as Brodie Lee, formerly Luke Harper in WWE.
  
  Lee then appeared in the ring and landed a big boot on Daniels followed by a beautiful discus lariat.
  
  Brodie Lee is an excellent signing and I’m going to give the story more time to digest before passing judgement since other than taking over, the Dark Order’s intentions are not quite clear.
  
  
  

• Jake Roberts was interviewed by Tony at ringside with Lance Archer standing by.
  
  Roberts kept referring to Cody as Caesar and noted that they will now ensure he has their attention. After over four decades in the professional wrestling business, Jake remains one of the best behind a microphone as he speaks with such conviction that sends shivers down your spine.
  
  
  The video aired showing Lance Archer beating up independent wrestlers in the backwoods was a tad perplexing. Lance yelling," “everybody dies, everybody dies!” seems to go against Jake’s brilliant psychology of don’t promise something you can’t deliver on.
  
  

  "Hey Lance, what do you do with your off time?"

  "Oh, I just go to backwoods and cripple a bunch of wannabe wrestlers as Jake sits by and takes pleasure in it."

  *Backs away slowly*
  
  
  

• Wardlow vs. Luchasaurus along with a Parking Lot Brawl between Best Friends and Luchasaurus were both announced during the next episode of AEW Dynamite.
  
  
  

• The Main Event featured The Inner Circle (Santana, Ortiz, Jake Hager) vs The Elite (Cody, Adam Page, Matt Jackson)

  
  Chris Jericho made his entrance to join the commentary team for the match. Sammy Guevara took to the microphone and sang along to Judas along with MJF, Shawn Spears and others while Le Champion made his illustrious entrance.
  
  By the way, “Wash Your Hands, Close Your Mouth, Shut Your Ass” is an early contender for pro wrestling T-Shirt of the Year.
  
  Chris Jericho's lines about Arn Anderson holding a Waffle House menu along with Cody's neck tattoo being finger painted by a 5-year old Excalibur were simply hilarious. His ability to improv lines is second to none.
  
  The match itself was a tad chaotic and really lacked the empathy from the crowd while Cody was taking a beating. I particularly enjoyed seeing Matt Jackson and Hangman reluctantly working together.
  
  Hangman and Jackson were going for the Indytaker, but after Page was pulled to the floor, Santana managed to pin Matt for the victory. The Inner Circle has the advantage at Blood & Guts.
  
  With several minutes left before the top of the hour, you could tell Jericho was stalling for time on the microphone as he bragged about the Inner Circle’s chemistry, discussed banishing fans from attending Dynamite and noted how it will be 5 on 4 a Blood & Guts.
  
  As the VANGUARD1 drone appeared before the Inner Circle, Matt Jackson noted he had someone that owed him a favour.
  
  A piano started playing while the Inner Circle pointed into the stands. Standing alone in the second balcony was Matt Hardy, the Broken One. WONDERFUL! He made his DELETE hand gesture as the show concluded.
  
  
  Final Thoughts

  Given the incredibly unique circumstances, this was a very enjoyable show with AEW capitalizing on many of the mistakes that WWE made with Smackdown and Raw over the past week.
  
  The show featured:

• The reveal of Brodie Lee as the Exalted One

• The debut of Matt Hardy

• Talent in the audience (MJF stole the show)

• High-quality production featuring pyro, the darkened arena and the hard camera facing the stage

• Solid matches
  
  

  Since New Year's Day, All Elite Wrestling has been riding some incredible momentum. As Cody noted how important the service they provide is, but it’s also worth noting how much we appreciate the talent being our freedom from concern during a very uncertain time.